Sample records for 21st century approaches

What are the capabilities necessary to meet 21stcentury challenges? Much of the literature on 21stcentury skills focuses on skills necessary to meet those challenges associated with future work in a globalised world. The result is a limited characterisation of those capabilities necessary to address 21stcentury social, health and particularly…

The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills (P21) has forged alliances with key national organizations representing the core academic subjects, including Social Studies, English, Math, Science, Geography, World Languages and the Arts. These collaborations have resulted in the development of 21stCentury Skills Maps that illustrate the essential…

Data volumes from multiple sky surveys have grown from gigabytes into terabytes during the past decade, and will grow from terabytes into tens (or hundreds) of petabytes in the next decade. This exponential growth of new data both enables and challenges effective astronomical research, requiring new approaches. Thus far, astronomy has tended to address these challenges in an informal and ad hoc manner, with the necessary special expertise being assigned to e-Science or survey science. However, we see an even wider scope and therefore promote a broader vision of this data-driven revolution in astronomical research. For astronomy to effectively cope with and reap the maximum scientific return from existing and future large sky surveys, facilities, and data-producing projects, we need our own information science specialists. We therefore recommend the formal creation, recognition, and support of a major new discipline, which we call Astroinformatics. Astroinformatics includes a set of naturally-related specialti...

An interdisciplinary approach for Biology, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BTEM) is suggested to develop 21stcentury skills in the Malaysian context. BTEM allows students to master biological knowledge and at the same time to be adroit in other sub discipline skills. Students master factual knowledge of biology and skills of the 21stcentury simultaneously. The two main teaching and learning strategies applied in BTEM are problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning. Students a...

Full Text Available Macro-analysis and East-West encounter are shown through consideration of objective yet subjective constructed concepts for the international system and international economy in the 21stcentury. Three paradigms are considered, namely the 21stcentury as the Pacific Century, as Chinas Century and as the Asian Century. Overlaps are shown between these three paradigms, as also developments in time, and gradually shift in geographical location. The Pacific Century, and its associated Rimspeak, was the paradigm emerging in the late 1970s, knitting together Americas West Coast and the Japanese economy. By the late 1980s this was already shifting to talk of the 21stcentury likely to be an Asian Century model, mark-1, based on the Pacific Asia dynamism shown by the Asian Tigers and Japan. However, the Asian financial crash of 1997-8, and the economic downturn in Japan, meant that such an Asian Century seemed premature as the 21stcentury arrived. Instead, it was Chinas economic growth that seemed most evident, and with it the concept of the 21stcentury as Chinas Century. However, in turn that has already been modified during the first decade of the century by Indias arrival as a rapidly growing economy. Consequently the 21stcentury as Chinas Century and as Indias Century has been combined into talk of an Asian Century, mark-2.

Since 2002, the Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has been the leading advocacy organization in the United States focused on infusing 21stcentury skills into education. Its "Framework for 21stCentury Learning," the result of a consensus among hundreds of stakeholders, describes the skills, knowledge, and expertise students need to succeed in…

Clearly, U.S. schools must prepare students with the academic insights and skills necessary for success in work and life in the 21stcentury. But they also must ensure that students gain responsible social relationship skills. These social competencies are equally important for success in work and life. By focusing on such social competencies,…

The United States and its Allies confront an increasingly volatile world where threats range from traditional state-on-state challenges to non-state transnational networks. To successfully combat these 21stCentury problems, in an era of resource and geo-political power constraints, the U.S. and......), Counter-Terrorism (CT), and Security and Stability Operations (SSO). • Establishing a construct that allows a strategic Whole-of-Government capacity for operations coordinated by joint interagency task forces. • Continue to developing the Global SOF network. • Increased intelligence sharing in areas of...... shared interests pre-crisis. • Establish political agreements and/or intentions with partners to address potential threats. • Establishing mutual trust through Building Partnership Capacity with capable SOF and intelligence organizations....

The global coastal ocean and watersheds are divided into 66 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), which encompass regions from river basins, estuaries, and coasts to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves and margins of major currents. Approximately 80% of global fisheries catch comes from LME waters. Ecosystem goods and services from LMEs contribute an estimated US 18-25 trillion dollars annually to the global economy in market and non-market value. The critical importance of these large-scale systems, however, is threatened by human populations and pressures, including climate change. Fortunately, there is pragmatic reason for optimism. Interdisciplinary frameworks exist, such as the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) approach for adaptive management that can integrate both nature-centric and human-centric views into ecosystem monitoring, assessment, and adaptive management practices for long-term sustainability. Originally proposed almost 30 years ago, the LME approach rests on five modules are: (i) productivity, (ii) fish and fisheries, (iii) pollution and ecosystem health, (iv) socioeconomics, and (v) governance for iterative adaptive management at a large, international scale of 200,000 km2 or greater. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank, and United Nations agencies recognize and support the LME approach—as evidenced by over 3.15 billion in financial assistance to date for LME projects. This year of 2014 is an exciting milestone in LME history, after 20 years of the United Nations and GEF organizations adopting LMEs as a unit for ecosystem-based approaches to management. The LME approach, however, is not perfect. Nor is it immutable. Similar to the adaptive management framework it propones, the LME approach itself must adapt to new and emerging 21stCentury technologies, science, and realities. The LME approach must further consider socioeconomics and governance. Within the socioeconomics module alone, several trillion-dollar opportunities exist

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of Science.

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of Geography.

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of the Arts.

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of Social Studies.

This paper examines students' perceptions of how intentionally taught 21stcentury skills have transformed their lives. Personal development education (PDE) encompasses interpersonal and interaction skills that are required for students to function and succeed in global-oriented 21stcentury colleges and careers. The Common Core State Standards…

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of World Languages. [Funding for this paper was provided by EF Education.

This 21stCentury Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills has issued this map for the core subject of English.

HIPDM21 (Hitachi Product Data Management System for the 21stcentury) is a comprehensive computer information management system which has been developed for the purpose of plant life cycle business support in terms of the electronics information exchange and sharing between the disciplines using the product data management technology. The system consists of core systems (Engineering Data Control System, Integrated Commodity Database system, and Document Management System) and business application systems. In the present development phase, the system is being enhanced to support CALS standards including EDT, SGML, and STEP, and to support information exchange and sharing with outside the company including clients, construction companies, and domestic/international vendors. (author)

For students to learn 21st-century skills, we will have to teach them differently than we have in the past. The outdated, transmission model, through which teachers transmit factual knowledge to students via lectures and textbooks, remains the dominant approach to compulsory education in much of the world, yet it is not the most effective way to…

The rapid pace of change at Ike end of the 20th Century should continue unabated well into the 21stCentury. The driver will be the marketplace imperative of "faster, better, cheaper." This imperative has already stimulated a revolution-in-engineering in design and manufacturing. In contrast, to date, reliability engineering has not undergone a similar level of change. It is critical that we implement a corresponding revolution-in-reliability-engineering as we enter the new millennium. If we are still using 20th Century reliability approaches in the 21stCentury, then reliability issues will be the limiting factor in faster, better, and cheaper. At the heart of this reliability revolution will be a science-based approach to reliability engineering. Science-based reliability will enable building-in reliability, application-specific products, virtual qualification, and predictive maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate a dialogue on the future of reliability engineering. We will try to gaze into the crystal ball and predict some key issues that will drive reliability programs in the new millennium. In the 21stCentury, we will demand more of our reliability programs. We will need the ability to make accurate reliability predictions that will enable optimizing cost, performance and time-to-market to meet the needs of every market segment. We will require that all of these new capabilities be in place prior to the stint of a product development cycle. The management of reliability programs will be driven by quantifiable metrics of value added to the organization business objectives.

Full Text Available An interdisciplinary approach for Biology, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BTEM is suggested to develop 21stcentury skills in the Malaysian context. BTEM allows students to master biological knowledge and at the same time to be adroit in other sub discipline skills. Students master factual knowledge of biology and skills of the 21stcentury simultaneously. The two main teaching and learning strategies applied in BTEM are problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning. Students are exposed to real world problems that require them to undergo inquiry processes to discover the inventive solutions. The content knowledge of biology adheres to the Malaysian Integrated Curriculum for Secondary Schools. The essence of engineering is inventive problem solving. Incorporation of information communication technologies in teaching and learning will be able to fulfil the needs of the current Net Generation. Mathematics plays an important role as computational tools, especially in analysing data. The highlighted 21stcentury skills in BTEM include digital literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, high productivity, and spiritual and noble values.

Adopting a proactive approach and focusing on emerging radiation-generating technologies, Health Physics in the 21stCentury meets the growing need for a presentation of the relevant radiological characteristics and hazards. As such, this monograph discusses those technologies that will affect the health physics and radiation protection profession over the decades to come. After an introductory overview, the second part of this book looks at fission and fusion energy, followed by a section devoted to accelerators, while the final main section deals with radiation on manned space missions.

Energy may be the most important factor that will influence the shape of society in the 21stcentury. The cost and availability of energy significantly impacts our quality of life, the health of national economies, the relationships between nations, and the stability of our environment. What kind of energy do we want to use in our future? Will there be enough? What will be the consequences of our decisions? Everyone has a stake in the answers to these questions and the decisions that are being made to provide energy. ""Energy in the 21stCentury"", in its second edition, examines the energy so

On September 21, 1990, at the University of California, Los Angeles, Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, six nurse theorists participated in a panel discussion on theory development for the 21stcentury. The theorists included Dorothy Johnson, Betty Neuman, Dorothea E. Orem, Rosemarie Rizzo Parse, Martha E. Rogers and Callista Roy. The panel provided the participants the opportunity to speculate on the course for future development of nursing knowledge. Three questions were posed to the panel relating to the development of their models, the direction nursing theory will take in the 21stcentury, and current research emerging from the extant theories. The panel also addressed questions from the audience. PMID:1454278

Many events that affect global energy production and consumption have occurred since the second edition of Energy in the 21stCentury appeared in 2011. For example, an earthquake and tsunami in Japan led to the disruption of the Fukushima nuclear facility and a global re-examination of the safety of the nuclear industry. Oil and natural gas prices continue to be volatile, and the demand for energy has been affected by the global economy. The third edition updates data and the discussion of recent events.Energy in the 21stCentury has been used as the text for an introductory energy course for

On the leading edge in ''high-tech'' medicine, radiology is experiencing several revolutions simultaneously that promise an exciting future. New imaging methods and digital technologies not only offer novel ways to view tissues but also provide opportunities for quantitative evaluation of function and even permit determination of metabolic status. New approaches to technology assessment are being explored that alter the ways in which equipment and procedures are introduced into clinical medicine. With the plethora of radiology services available, the radiologist must serve as a consultant in the triage of patients in radiology and the dissemination of information from radiology. For similar reasons, training in diagnostic radiology may eventually accommodate to the concept of specialization along organ-system lines. Without question, radiology is destined for an exciting period as it moves into the 21stcentury

Undergraduate introductory geology courses are required in many colleges nationwide as part of the general education requirement. As a result, a large portion of those students are non-majors and most are not science majors. Textbooks used in these courses are often extensive with respect to the amount of material covered which tends to be overwhelming to the average student. Thus, students often purchase the pricey textbook but turn to their smartphones, notebooks, and laptops for answers. Before the development of the internet, students spent many hours in libraries and with their textbooks organizing and retrieving information. However, new technologies in the 21stcentury have essentially replaced traditional textbooks with students turning to online search engines, such as Google, to study and to complete homework assignments. Presently, online search engines may be more intuitive, but what's going on in the background isn't intuitive at all, and few students have a clear understanding of how search engines operate. Effectively this leads to students without the conception of how to build an adequate search strategy independent of search engines. Often, students are directed to online encyclopedias that may have erroneous information. Here, we employ an alternative to traditional textbooks and online search engines by implementing a guidebook with electronic resources for online activities and homework assignments. The proposed guidebook is roughly modeled after the American Geosciences Institute's Geoscience Handbook: AGI Data Sheets 4th, revised edition, and will include diagrams, graphs, charts, and pictures of basic geologic principles, processes, and earth materials. Along with the information, each topic will have online resources including sites for general reading, specific assignments that require visiting scientifically sound websites (i.e., USGS, GSA, AGU, Science, Nature), online self-assessment activities, and Google Earth activities. In addition

Until very recently, an evaluation of US policy regarding deterrence and the role of its nuclear weapons arsenal as a deterrent has been largely absent in the public debate. With President's Obama embrace of a goal of a future world without nuclear weapons, issues of nuclear policy and deterrence have just recently risen to the forefront of policy discussions. The traditional role of US nuclear weapons-to deter the use of nuclear weapons by other states-endures, but is no longer unique nor even predominant. In an increasingly multi-polar world, the US now faces growing risks of nuclear weapons proliferation; the spread of weapons of mass destruction generally to non-state, substate and transnational actors; cyber, space, economic, environmental and resource threats along with the application of numerous other forms of 'soft power' in ways that are inimical to national security and to global stability. What concept of deterrence should the US seek to maintain in the 21stCentury? That question remains fluid and central to the current debate. Recently there has been a renewed focusing of attention on the role of US nuclear weapons and a national discussion about what the underlying policy should be. In this environment, both the United States and Russia have committed to drastic reductions in their nuclear arsenals, while still maintaining forces sufficient to ensure unacceptable consequence in response to acts of aggression. Further, the declared nuclear powers have maintained that a limited nuclear arsenal continues to provide insurance against uncertain developments in a changing world. In this environment of US and Russian stockpile reductions, all declared nuclear states have reiterated the central role which nuclear weapons continue to provide for their supreme national security interests. Given this new environment and the challenges of the next several decades, how might the United States structure its policy and forces with regard to nuclear

This is a state-of-the-art volume on lexicography at the beginning of the 21stcentury. It also offers proposals for future theoretical and practical work. The contributions, inspired by the ground-breaking work of Henning Bergenholtz, address topics such as dictionary functions; dictionary users...

The Lifelong Learning Center for the 21stCentury was proposed to provide personal renewal and technical training for employees at a major United States automotive manufacturing company when it implemented a new, computer-based Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machining, robotics, and high technology facility. The employees needed training for…

Science is constantly changing. If one hopes to keep pace with advances in science, one cannot simply repeat what one has done in the past, whether deciding how to invest limited research funds, searching to replace a retiring colleague, or teaching introductory psychology. Psychological science in the 21stcentury is more central and integrated…

Toward the end of the twentieth century, it became evident to professionals working within the meterological arena that the world's climate system was showing signs of change that could not be adequately explained in terms of natural variation. Since that time there has been an increasing recognition that the climate system is changing as a result of human industries and lifestyles, and that the outcomes may prove catastrophic to the world's escalating population. Compiled by an international team formed under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Climate: Into the 21stCentury features an unrivalled collection of essays by the world's leading meteorological experts. These fully integrated contributions provide a perspective of the global climate system across the twentieth century, and describe some of the most arresting and extreme climatic events and their effects that have occurred during that time. In addition, the book traces the development of our capabilities to observe and monitor the climate system, and outlines our understanding of the predictability of climate on time-scales of months and longer. It concludes with a summary of the prospects for applying the twentieth century climate experience in order to benefit society in the twenty-first century. Lavishly illustrated in color, Climate is an accessible acccount of the challenges that climate poses at the start of the twenty-first century. Filled with fascinating facts and diagrams, it is written for a wide audience and will captivate the general reader interested in climate issues, and will be a valuable teaching resource. William Burroughs is a successful science author of books on climate, including Weather (Time Life, 2000), and Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach (2001), Does the Weather Really Matter? (1997) and The Climate Revealed (1999), all published by Cambridge University Press.

This article presents a retrospective of the achievements of life sciences in the 20th century and a prospective in the 21stcentury.primarily,because of the emergence of molecular biology in the 20th cetury,life sciences have grown up from a descriptive discipline to an exact science.Biology in the 21stcentury features a unification between analysis and integration,i.e.the unification of analysis and func-tional research.More and more interdisciplinary integration will be based on works of penetrating analyses.Secondly.the deeper understanding of all living phenomena will lead to a unified connition of the essence of life so that general biology in the genuine sese of the term will come into being.finally,basic research on the life sciences will produce an unprecedented influence on all aspects of human life.

An ancient Chinese theme of "Shen Nong tasted hundred herbs and confronted seventy toxicities a day" means generally that medicine was created by the ancient labor people, although there's no trace of the real Shen Nong. Accordingly some animals would take certain herbs for stopping traumatic bleeding just as our ancestors done. Medicine iniated a long time ago but the development of modern medicine is really a little bit more than hundred years, Pasteur discovered bacteria and reported in 1857, not yet 150 years from now. Virchow discovered cell cleavage and thus founded modern basic cellular pathology somewhat a year later than the former. Mendels bean test opened a new era for genetic research and concluded in 1863. Roentgen discovered X-ray in 1895 and We've celebrated the 100th anniversary of the X-ray discovery several years ago. The earliest application of penicillin was in 1940, not yet 60 years ago. The medicine possesses a jumping development during the recent half century in association with the advancement of synthetic chemistry, electronic and bioscientific technolgy.

Full Text Available Detergents of the 21stcentury will depend on evolutions in household appliances, in substrates and in consumer needs. In addition, the environmental constraints, which become more and more stringent, will also play an important role, particularly in the formulations. Surfactants, which constitute one of the main raw materials in detergents, will have to be more environmentally friendly with increasing criteria of biodegradability and renewable materials. Builders (phosphates or zeolithes, heavy metal complexants (EDTA and bleaching agents (combination perborate/TAED are also expected to be replaced by biodegradable compounds, with better performances and lower costs. The real raw materials of the detergents of the 21stcentury will probably be enzymes (oxidase, hydrolase, peroxidase which present several advantages. At the same time, efforts will be made on biodegradable packaging through the use of micro-organisms able to degrade polymers. Finally, in terms of product forms, the concept of concentration might come back through the use of tablets.

The paper analyses some aspects of South African science fiction, starting with its beginnings in the 1920s and focusing on some 21stcentury writings. Thus Lauren Beukes’ novels Moxyland (2008) and Zoo City (2010) are taken into consideration in order to present new trends in South African literature and the way science fiction has been marked by Apartheid. The second South African science fiction writer whose writings are examined is Henrietta Rose-Innes (with her novel Nineveh, published i...

The 21stcentury brings four important challenges in which cooperation plays a central role: (1) a rapidly increasing global interdependence that will result in increasing local diversity as well as more frequent and intense conflicts, (2) the increasing number of democracies throughout the world, (3) the need for creative entrepreneurs, and (4) the growing importance of interpersonal relationships that affect the development of personal identity. The tools for meeting these challenges includ...

As we enter the 21stCentury, local governments will face challenges to how they raise revenue. Existing local tax systems are ill equipped to meet future basic revenue needs. Moreover, economic and technological changes will inevitably and profoundly alter tax systems of all governments. The problems with existing tax systems and future economic challenges will likely lead to an environment in which local taxation will be limited to an extent unseen in American history. The limitations will ...

Environmental issues in the 21stcentury D.B. Chambers SENES Consultants Limited, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Abstract. This paper provides an overview of some of the environmental challenges facing the uranium production industry in the 21stcentury. For many years, the linear, non-threshold (LNT) model has been regarded as a prudent hypothesis for radiation protection purposes. This paradigm has been challenged at the same time for both underestimating and overestimating the risks from ionizing radiation. The reality is that the ability of conventional epidemiology to distinguish small risks will always be limited by statistical power at low doses. In the future, there will be increased emphasis on better understanding the effects of ionizing radiation at the cellular (and sub cellular) level. The concept of 'controllable dose' has been proposed as an alternative to the International Commission on Radiological Protection's (ICRP) current approach to dose limitation. The concept is that if the most exposed individual is protected, then society as a whole is protected. A hazard ranking scale based on comparisons to natural background levels of radiation has been proposed. Adoption of a concept such as 'controllable dose' would require a parallel re-evaluation of the concepts and application of collective dose and ALARA optimization. The protection of non-human biota is an issue of considerable interest in many countries. The science in this area is rapidly evolving, as are discussions of a more philosophical nature. For example, should the focus of environmental risk assessment be the sustainability of the population or should the focus be to limit effects on a single member of the population? The future of environmental risk assessment should be of great interest to the uranium production industry. A systematic approach to risk assessment addressing the full scope of potential hazards -- environmental, human health, engineering, financial and others -- will be

Full Text Available The 20th century was marked by the feminine revolution and the change of status of women throughout the world. The following article wishes to approach from a multidisciplinary perspective the contrasting differences of the woman’s condition in two different “worlds” (Occidental and the Balkans given the access of women towards education, social attitude and the afferent politics for women. These indexes influence the rate of participation of women in the working field, thus, they play a crucial role in the personal development of them. The comparative analysis of the specialized literature points out the main characteristics of women from France and Germany (as defining parts of the Occidental Europe and Turkey and Bosnia (representative countries for the Balkans and the Islamic part of the continent throughout the 20th and the 21stcentury. Although there is a common set of features, it is the differences that draw attention regarding the unequal participation of women in the social, economical and political life.

This essay examines not only the role the humanities play in the community college curriculum but also how our approach to and understanding of the humanities must change. The defense of a 21st-century humanities has to begin in the experience of our students and not in the traditional canons of our disciplines.

Full Text Available The paper analyses some aspects of South African science fiction, starting with its beginnings in the 1920s and focusing on some 21stcentury writings. Thus Lauren Beukes’ novels Moxyland (2008 and Zoo City (2010 are taken into consideration in order to present new trends in South African literature and the way science fiction has been marked by Apartheid. The second South African science fiction writer whose writings are examined is Henrietta Rose-Innes (with her novel Nineveh, published in 2011 as this consolidates women's presence in the SF world.

Federal laboratories have successfully filled many roles for the public; however, as the 21stCentury nears it is time to rethink and reevaluate how Federal laboratories can better support the public and identify new roles for this class of publicly-owned institutions. The productivity of the Federal laboratory system can be increased by making use of public outcome metrics, by benchmarking laboratories, by deploying innovative new governance models, by partnerships of Federal laboratories with universities and companies, and by accelerating the transition of federal laboratories and the agencies that own them into learning organizations. The authors must learn how government-owned laboratories in other countries serve their public. Taiwan`s government laboratory, Industrial Technology Research Institute, has been particularly successful in promoting economic growth. It is time to stop operating Federal laboratories as monopoly institutions; therefore, competition between Federal laboratories must be promoted. Additionally, Federal laboratories capable of addressing emerging 21stcentury public problems must be identified and given the challenge of serving the public in innovative new ways. Increased investment in case studies of particular programs at Federal laboratories and research on the public utility of a system of Federal laboratories could lead to increased productivity of laboratories. Elimination of risk-averse Federal laboratory and agency bureaucracies would also have dramatic impact on the productivity of the Federal laboratory system. Appropriately used, the US Federal laboratory system offers the US an innovative advantage over other nations.

To inform the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision, whether or not to list polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), we projected the status of the world's polar bears (Ursus maritimus) for decades centered on future years 2025, 2050, 2075, and 2095. We defined four ecoregions based on current and projected sea ice conditions: seasonal ice, Canadian Archipelago, polar basin divergent, and polar basin convergent ecoregions. We incorporated general circulation model projections of future sea ice into a Bayesian network (BN) model structured around the factors considered in ESA decisions. This first-generation BN model combined empirical data, interpretations of data, and professional judgments of one polar bear expert into a probabilistic framework that identifies causal links between environmental stressors and polar bear responses. We provide guidance regarding steps necessary to refine the model, including adding inputs from other experts. The BN model projected extirpation of polar bears from the seasonal ice and polar basin divergent ecoregions, where ≈2/3 of the world's polar bears currently occur, by mid century. Projections were less dire in other ecoregions. Decline in ice habitat was the overriding factor driving the model outcomes. Although this is a first-generation model, the dependence of polar bears on sea ice is universally accepted, and the observed sea ice decline is faster than models suggest. Therefore, incorporating judgments of multiple experts in a final model is not expected to fundamentally alter the outlook for polar bears described here.

The author is a reviewer of various peer reviewed journals and during the review of the medical education research manuscript was observed that many novice of the field of medical education research do not follow the scientific steps of the medical education research. Therefore, this paper is aimed to reflect the essence of medical education research approach and to help the novice medical education research investigators to design the project in scientific approach. An intensive review is ma...

Full Text Available The author is a reviewer of various peer reviewed journals and during the review of the medical education research manuscript was observed that many novice of the field of medical education research do not follow the scientific steps of the medical education research. Therefore, this paper is aimed to reflect the essence of medical education research approach and to help the novice medical education research investigators to design the project in scientific approach. An intensive review is made on the available printed and online resources. The resources were mainly on the social science and medical education research methodologies. Medical education research steps must follow the various steps of social science research methodology. Due to various reasons case study methodology became popular approach in medical education. The case study comprises of interview survey, questionnaire survey, participant observation and documentary analysis. To overcome the inherent weakness of the non-experimental subjective research, triangulation methodology is being used in recent years. Case study approach is the best way to explore the research issues of the medical education. The triangulation methodology must be applied to overcome the inherent subjectivity of the research approach. This paper may be used as a guide to design the various steps of case study research approach in medical education.

Dermatology has been associated with quackery for at least a century. The dictionary defines a quack as "a pretender to medical knowledge or skill; ignorantly or falsely pretending to cure." The term quack is derived from quacksalver, or one who quacks like a duck in promoting his salves. Quacksalvers hacked many potions, including snake oil, with claims that it cured everything from dermatitis to rheumatism. With the current promulgation of skin "products" and their promotion and even sale by dermatologists, and the use of treatments of no proven efficacy, this association between dermatology and quackery is set to continue well into the 21stcentury. The list of offending treatments includes silicone gel sheets and onion extract cream (Mederma) for keloids, alpha-hydroxy acid creams and peels, topical ascorbic acid and phytonadione, "laser resurfacing," and cimetidine for warts, to name only a few. PMID:9875187

The objective of this paper is to explicate on the study of modern administrative building in Malaysia which portrays regional design approach that conforms to the local context and climate by reviewing two case studies; Perdana Putra (1999) and former Prime Minister's Office (1967). This paper is significant because the country's stature and political statement was symbolized by administrative building as a national icon. In other words, it is also viewed as a cultural object that is closely tied to a particular social context and nation historical moment. Administrative building, therefore, may exhibit various meanings. This paper uses structuralism paradigm and semiotic principles as a methodological approach. This paper is of importance for practicing architects and society in the future as it offers new knowledge and understanding in identifying the suitable climatic consideration that may reflect regionalist design approach in modern administrative building. These elements then may be adopted in designing public buildings in the future with regional values that are important for expressing national culture to symbolize the identity of place and society as well as responsive to climate change.

Full Text Available Although rodents are not considered among the most threatened mammals, there is ample historical evidence concerning the vulnerability to extinction of several rodent phylogenetic lineages. Owing to the high number of species, poor taxonomy and the lack of detailed information on population status, the assessment of threat status according to IUCN criteria has still to be considered arbitrary in some cases. Public appreciation is scarce and tends to overlook the ecological role and conservation problems of an order representing about 41 percent of mammalian species. We provide an overview of the most relevant information concerning the conservation status of rodents at the genus, subfamily, and family level. For species¿poor taxa, the importance of distinct populations is highlighted and a splitter approach in taxonomy is adopted. Considering present constraints, strategies for the conservation of rodent diversity must rely mainly on higher taxon and hot-spot approaches. A clear understanding of phyletic relationships among difficult groups -such as Rattus, for instance- is an urgent goal. Even if rodent taxonomy is still unstable, high taxon approach is amply justified from a conservation standpoint as it offers a more subtle overview of the world terrestrial biodiversity than that offered by large mammals. Of the circa 451 living rodent genera, 126 (27,9 %, representing 168 living species, deserve conservation attention according to the present study. About 76 % of genera at risk are monotypic, confirming the danger of losing a considerable amount of phylogenetic distinctiveness.

The objective of this paper is to explicate on the study of modern administrative building in Malaysia which portrays regional design approach that conforms to the local context and climate by reviewing two case studies; Perdana Putra (1999) and former Prime Minister's Office (1967). This paper is significant because the country's stature and political statement was symbolized by administrative building as a national icon. In other words, it is also viewed as a cultural object that is closely tied to a particular social context and nation historical moment. Administrative building, therefore, may exhibit various meanings. This paper uses structuralism paradigm and semiotic principles as a methodological approach. This paper is of importance for practicing architects and society in the future as it offers new knowledge and understanding in identifying the suitable climatic consideration that may reflect regionalist design approach in modern administrative building. These elements then may be adopted in designing public buildings in the future with regional values that are important for expressing national culture to symbolize the identity of place and society as well as responsive to climate change

Full Text Available Many studies show that marketing has recently lost its strategic position within companies. Customer Lifetime Value represents a relatively new approach to reestablishing marketing´s position as the core management instrument in market driven companies. The main goal of this paper is to summarize the current development and basic principles of the Customer Lifetime Value conceptual model, which sets customers back into the position of key company assets. The paper presents findings that prove the need for a marketing focus change in order to be able to properly manage customer relationships and secure a company’s long-term sustainable development.

Extramedullary tumors remain an obstacle to curing more acute leukemia patients. Their incidence is unknown because the presence of occult tumors that contribute to relapse is not routinely sought as in other cancers. No standard approach exists for treating tumors at most sites, apparent clinical response is typically followed by further tumors, and achievement of lengthy remission is uncommon. Body scanning with (18) FDG PET/CT now provides a means to identify the extent of occult tumors that enables directed tumor eradication and a way to evaluate tumor response. To evaluate its potential benefits, analysis was undertaken of 124 published cases scanned after apparent tumors were diagnosed. Clinical and radiologic exams underestimated extent of disease in over half of 100 cases. Among 70 cases that reported scans after various treatments, 70% achieved negative scans. Half relapsed subsequently but disease-free survivals up to 6 years were documented. These reported cases add to our knowledge of extramedullary leukemia in showing that further tumors are more likely than marrow relapse, clinical and radiologic evaluation of response is inadequate, intensive chemotherapy alone generally does not prevent progression and is associated with significant mortality, and tumor-directed plus systemic therapies appears the most effective approach, particularly to AML tumors. This analysis suggests this technology could increase our ability to eradicate all foci of leukemia, and identify tumors responsible for refractory, residual, and relapsed disease. PMID:26718745

In this paper, an approach to teaching occupational therapy students how to create orthoses, whilst at the same time developing higher-order critical thinking, reflective, and clinical reasoning skills is described. The scaffolded nature of the learning activities, incorporating Kolb's reflective learning cycle, was used to support students' capacity for clinical reasoning and better prepare them for clinical placement. The peer-assessment element was also designed to support the experiential learning by allowing students to test their evaluation of hand orthoses, compare their assessment with an expert's, and identify areas for improvement. Students who demonstrated higher grades for the written reflection assessment showed better agreement with the experts (smaller bias, pstudents' capacity for reflective thinking and the development of clinical reasoning. Furthermore, the reflective writing exercise encouraged students to generalise their skills beyond the classroom. The approach and findings of this study are relevant to a range of allied health professions through providing a process to support the development of higher-order critical thinking, reflection, and reasoning skills. Furthermore, the study provides an evidence base to demonstrate that higher reflective skill capacity and critical thinking are crucial to creating agentic learners. PMID:26937876

responses to the environment. A major challenge for life scientists in the 21stcentury is to understand how a changing environment impacts all life on earth. A full understanding of the capabilities of organisms to respond to environmental variation, and the resilience of organisms challenged by environmental changes and extremes, is necessary for understanding the impact of pollution and climatic change on the viability of populations. Comparative endocrinologists have a key role to play in these efforts.

This paper provides an overview of some of the environmental challenges facing the uranium production industry in the 21stcentury. For many years, the linear, non-threshold (LNT) model has been regarded as a prudent hypothesis for radiation protection purposes. This paradigm has been challenged at the same time for both underestimating and overestimating the risks from ionizing radiation. The reality is that the ability of conventional epidemiology to distinguish small risks will always be limited by statistical power at low doses. In the future, there will be increased emphasis on better understanding the effects of ionizing radiation at the cellular (and sub cellular) level. The concept of 'controllable dose' has been proposed as an alternative to the ICRP's current approach to dose limitation. The concept is that if the most exposed individual is protected, then society as a whole is protected. A hazard ranking scale based on comparisons to natural background levels of radiation has been proposed. Adoption of a concept such as 'controllable dose' would require a parallel re-evaluation of the concepts and application of collective dose and ALARA optimization. The protection of non-human biota is an issue of considerable interest in many countries. The science in this area is rapidly evolving, as are discussions of a more philosophical nature. For example, should the focus of environmental risk assessment be the sustainability of the population or should the focus be to limit effects on a single member of the population? The future of environmental risk assessment should be of great interest to the uranium production industry. A systematic approach to risk assessment addressing the full scope of potential hazards - environmental, human health, engineering, financial and others - will be increasingly important in the future. What level of risk is it reasonable to accept? What is meant by 'reasonable'? How much risk can be engineered away, for how long, and at what

In this article it is argued that one of the major transformative factors of the humanities at the beginning of the 21stcentury is the shift from analogue to digital source material, and that this shift will affect the humanities in a variety of ways. But various kinds of digital material are not...... digital in the same way, which a distinction between digitized, born-digital, and reborn-digital may help us acknowledge, thereby helping us to understand how each of these types of digital material affects different phases of scholarly work in its own way. This is illustrated by a detailed comparison of...... the nature of digitized collections and web archives....

Reasonable evolutionary trends in federal outlays for aerospace research and development predict a continuing decline in real resources (1970 dollars) until the mid eighties, and a growth thereafter to the 1970 level by 2000, still well below the 1966 peak. Employment levels will parallel this trend with no shortage of available personnel foreseen. These trends characterize a maturing industry. Shifts in outlook toward the economic use of resources, rather than minimum risk at any cost, and toward missions aligned with societal needs and broad national goals will accompany these trends. These shifts in outlook will arise in part in academia, and will, in turn, influence engineering education. By 2000, space technology will have achieved major advances in the management of information, in space transportation, in space structures, and in energy. The economics of space systems must be the primary consideration if the space program foreseen for the 21stcentury is to become an actuality.

The publication includes the lectures held during the seminar on IAEA safeguards for the 21stcentury. The topics covered are as follows: the nuclear non-proliferation regime; Legal instruments related to the application of safeguards; multilateral nuclear export controls; physical protection and its role in nuclear non-proliferation; the evolution of safeguards; basis for the strengthening of safeguards; information required from states, including 'small quantities protocol'; processing and evaluation of new information for strengthened safeguards; additional physical access and new technologies for strengthened safeguards; equipping the IAEA Inspectorate with new skills; achievements to date the strengthened safeguards; complement of regional non-proliferation arrangements in international nuclear verification; promotion of transparency through Korean experience; and the future prospects of safeguards

Leaders know how to achieve goals and inspire people along the way. While the terms and definitions may change with the times, it is important to understand the skills and abilities needed to lead in the 21stcentury. Most effective leaders have one element in common, and that is they are able to keep their teams engaged. If team members are not engaged, they may very well leave the organization. With four generations in the workplace, leaders must adapt and modify their leadership style in order to maintain employee engagement. The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of skills, including communication, motivation, vision, modeling, demonstrating empathy, confidence, persistence, and integrity. PMID:26710571

Demands for effective vaccines to control parasitic diseases of humans and livestock have been recently exacerbated by the development of resistance of most pathogenic parasites to anti-parasitic drugs. Novel genomic and proteomic technologies have provided opportunities for the discovery and improvement of DNA vaccines which are relatively easy as well as cheap to fabricate and stable at room temperatures. However, their main limitation is rather poor immunogenicity, which makes it necessary to couple the antigens with adjuvant molecules. This paper review recent advances in the development of DNA vaccines to some pathogenic protozoa and helminths. Numerous studies were conducted over the past 14 years of 21stcentury, employing various administration techniques, adjuvants and new immunogenic antigens to increase efficacy of DNA vaccines. Unfortunately, the results have not been rewarding. Further research is necessary using more extensive combinations of antigens; alternate delivery systems and more efficient adjuvants based on knowledge of the immunomodulatory capacities of parasitic protozoa and helminths. PMID:26203983

The Federal government plays a key role in supporting the country's science infrastructure, a national treasure, and scientific research, an investment in our future. Scientific discoveries transform the way we think about our universe and ourselves, from the vastness of space to molecular-level biology. In innovations such as drugs derived through biotechnology and new communications technologies we see constant evidence of the power of science to improve lives and address national challenges. We had not yet learned to fly at the dawn of the 20th century, and could not have imagined the amazing 20th century inventions that we now take for granted. As we move into the 21stcentury, we eagerly anticipate new insights, discoveries, and technologies that will inspire and enrich us for many decades to come. This report presents the critical responsibilities of our Federal science enterprise and the actions taken by the Federal research agencies, through the National Science and Technology Council, to align our programs with scientific opportunity and with national needs. The many examples show how our science enterprise has responded to the President's priorities for homeland and national security, economic growth, health research, and the environment. In addition, we show how the science agencies work together to set priorities; coordinate related research programs; leverage investments to promote discovery, translate science into national benefits, and sustain the national research enterprise; and promote excellence in math and science education and work force development.

The paper begins with the author's personal experience in Poland on the occasion of Chernobyl nuclear accident followed by main lessons that the author could deduce from the accident. After the discovery of ionizing radiation at the end of 19th century, social perception has altered between acceptance and rejection stemming from recognition of the basic aspects: usefulness for medical applications and for technical and scientific aims, beneficial effects of their low levels, and harmful effects of high levels. The author explains how linear no-threshold (LNT) assumption according to which even the lowest, near zero doses of radiation may cause cancer genetic harm has become established. Comparing the natural radioactivity of the earth's crust with the activity of much shorter-lived radioactive wastes from the nuclear power cycle, it is concluded that none of the man-made component of the radioactive wastes has higher-toxicity than the natural Th 232. The paper concludes by stating that one century has not been long enough to adapt mentally to ionizing radiation and radioactivity and perhaps 21stcentury will suffice for this adaptation. (S. Ohno)

Finally--12 years into the 21stcentury--higher ed classrooms are turning into incubators for the kind of learning environment that curriculum and instructional technology experts have advocated for years. Yet a key question remains: Can legacy learning management systems (LMSs) be dragged into the 21stcentury as part of this new educational…

Scenarios of global energy need in the 21stcentury are discussed. Nuclear reactors will have important roles in supplying energy need in the 21stcentury if its evolutionary and innovative developments are continued to achieve economical competitiveness, high safety, positive environmental impacts, and ensuring sustain ability of innovation in the future energy supply

Full Text Available Information and communication technologies will undoubtely be leading determinants of urban landscape in the 21stcentury. Until the present day, it was assumed that urban landscapes were being shaped by conventional factors such as demography, social and economical structure, transportion, infrastructure, building technologies etc. In spite of many speculative approaches, recent developments in information and communication technologies can offer us some clues which may go beyond mere speculation. The“intelligent city” which is based on “autonomous” and “intelligent” objects and agents promising novel solutions to urban problems. Mobile communication is also another promising domain to offer creative solutions to some cronical urban problems. All these novelties provide sufficient reasons to think about new urban structures based upon information technologies.This paper is an attempt to discuss probable effects of information technologies, as new dynamics to shape the urban environment and urban life of the 21stcentury.

Summary Understanding and preventing adverse impacts from chemicals in the environment is fundamental to protecting public health, and chemical risk assessments are used to inform public health decisions in the United States and around the world. Traditional chemical risk assessments focus on health effects of environmental contaminants on a chemical-by-chemical basis, largely based on data from animal models using exposures that are typically higher than those experienced by humans. Results from environmental epidemiology studies sometimes show effects that are not observed in animal studies at human exposure levels that are lower than those used in animal studies. In addition, new approaches such as Toxicology in the 21stCentury (Tox21) and exposure forecasting (ExpoCast) are generating mechanistic data that provide broad coverage of chemical space, chemical mixtures, and potential associated health outcomes, along with improved exposure estimates. It is becoming clear that risk assessments in the future will need to use the full range of available mechanistic, animal, and human data to integrate multiple types of data and to consider nontraditional health outcomes and end points. This perspective was developed at the “Strengthening the Scientific Basis of Chemical Safety Assessments” workshop, which was cosponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where gaps between the emerging science and traditional chemical risk assessments were explored, and approaches for bridging the gaps were considered. PMID:27035154

We are truly fortunate to live in one of the great epochs of human discovery, a time when science is providing new visions and understanding about ourselves and the world in which we live. At last, we are beginning to explore the Universe itself. One particularly exciting area of advancement is high-energy physics where several existing concepts will be put to the test. A brief survey will be given of accomplishments in 20th Century physics. These include relativity and quantum physics which have produced breakthroughs in cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. The current situation is then assessed, combining the last 100 years of progress with new 21stCentury challenges about unification and where to go next. Finally, the future is upon us. The next frontier in experimental high-energy physics, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, is scheduled to begin coming online this year (2007). The potential for the LHC to address several of the significant problems in physics today will be discussed, as this great accelerator examines the predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics and even cosmology. New physics and new science will surely emerge and a better vision of the world will unfold.

Full text: The watchwords for neutron scattering in the 21stCentury will be complementarity and computing. Despite the enormous impact that is coming in condensed matter science, chemistry and biology from synchrotron light sources, the essential complementarity between x-ray and neutron scattering is likely to be not only preserved but enhanced. This will be achieved by current and foreseen investments in new neutron sources of high intensity and by technique developments involving neutron polarisation, neutron optics and neutron detection. The complementary relationship between neutrons and x-rays - especially using isotopic and spin polarisation contrast will be illustrated along with some challenges which might well be met in the next ten to 15 years. In meeting these challenges it is inevitable that the enormous growth in power of computing systems will play a key part. Computing must be combined very intimately in the design and interpretation of scattering experiments as well as the retention and the retrieval of experimental data. International organisations such as the International Union of Crystallography will play a part in this

Biofabrication can be defined as the production of complex living and non-living biological products from raw materials such as living cells, molecules, extracellular matrices, and biomaterials. Cell and developmental biology, biomaterials science, and mechanical engineering are the main disciplines contributing to the emergence of biofabrication technology. The industrial potential of biofabrication technology is far beyond the traditional medically oriented tissue engineering and organ printing and, in the short term, it is essential for developing potentially highly predictive human cell- and tissue-based technologies for drug discovery, drug toxicity, environmental toxicology assays, and complex in vitro models of human development and diseases. In the long term, biofabrication can also contribute to the development of novel biotechnologies for sustainable energy production in the future biofuel industry and dramatically transform traditional animal-based agriculture by inventing 'animal-free' food, leather, and fur products. Thus, the broad spectrum of potential applications and rapidly growing arsenal of biofabrication methods strongly suggests that biofabrication can become a dominant technological platform and new paradigm for 21stcentury manufacturing. The main objectives of this review are defining biofabrication, outlining the most essential disciplines critical for emergence of this field, analysis of the evolving arsenal of biofabrication technologies and their potential practical applications, as well as a discussion of the common challenges being faced by biofabrication technologies, and the necessary conditions for the development of a global biofabrication research community and commercially successful biofabrication industry. (topical review)

Concerned by the need to decolonize education for Aboriginal students, the authors explore philosophies of Indigenous ways of knowing and those of the 21stcentury learning movement. In their efforts to propose a way forward with Aboriginal education, the authors inquire into harmonies between Aboriginal knowledges and tenets of 21st century…

Full text: All plausible long term energy scenarios project significant growth of global energy, especially if the Millennium Declaration on poverty eradication and the Plan of Implementation agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) are to be met. Projected growth is the fastest in developing countries. While growth for affordable energy services is not subject to debate really - the question is rather by how much - this is not the case for energy supply. 21stcentury energy supply systems face several challenges and uncertainties including energy resource availability, technology change, environmental compliance, reliability and security, political and social acceptance. One of the uncertainties concerns the role of nuclear power in 21stcentury energy supplies. Paradoxically, its near term role appears less certain that its longer term role. In the short-run, i.e., until 2020, most studies project either a slight increase, a slight decrease or no change at all. Though regional differences exist in terms of growth and decline, the effectively balance each other. Longer-term energy demand and supply studies, however, paint a different future. Analyses developed by international working groups generally project a potentially significant increase in the use of nuclear power. There are several reasons for this. Foremost, longer-term studies are not subjected to short-term policy constraints. Next, they do factor anticipated technology change and innovation into the analysis. Then resource depletion effects become more visible and environmental constraints become more stringent. The starting point of this paper is the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Based on four of the SRES scenarios, one from each of the four SRES scenario families, this paper discusses the compatibility requirements of each for nuclear energy in terms of economics, environment, supply security, resources, waste

Lithium is an important industrial compound and the principal component of high energy-density batteries. Because it is the lightest solid element, these batteries are widely used in consumer electronics and are expected to be the basis for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for the 21stcentury. In view of the large incremental demand for lithium that will result from expanded use of various types of EVs, long-term estimates of lithium demand and supply are advisable. For GDP growth rates of 2 to 3% and battery recycling rates of 90 to 100%, total demand for lithium for all markets is expected to be a maximum of 19.6 million tonnes through 2100. This includes 3.2 million tonnes for industrial compounds, 3.6 million tonnes for consumer electronics, and 12.8 million tonnes for EVs. Lithium-bearing mineral deposits that might supply this demand contain an estimated resource of approximately 39 million tonnes, although many of these deposits have not been adequately evaluated. These lithium-bearing mineral deposits are of two main types, non-marine playa-brine deposits and igneous deposits. Playa-brine deposits have the greatest immediate resource potential (estimated at 66% of global resources) and include the Salar de Atacama (Chile), the source of almost half of current world lithium production, as well as Zabuye (China/Tibet) and Hombre Muerto (Argentina). Additional important playa-brine lithium resources include Rincon (Argentina), Qaidam (China), Silver Peak (USA) and Uyuni (Bolivia), which together account for about 35% of the estimated global lithium resource. Information on the size and continuity of brine-bearing aquifers in many of these deposits is limited, and differences in chemical composition of brines from deposit to deposit require different extraction processes and yield different product mixes of lithium, boron, potassium and other elements. Numerous other brines in playas

Fossil fuels (i.e., petroleum, natural gas and coal), which meet most of the world's energy demand today, are being depleted fast. Also, their combustion products are causing the global problems, such as the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, acid rains and pollution, which are posing great danger for our environment and eventually for the life in our planet. Many engineers and scientists agree that the solution to these global problems would be to replace the existing fossil fuel system by the Hydrogen Energy System. Hydrogen is a very efficient and clean fuel. Its combustion will produce no greenhouse gases, no ozone layer depleting chemicals, little or no acid rain ingredients and pollution. Hydrogen, produced from renewable energy (e.g., solar) sources, would result in a permanent energy system, which we would never have to change. However, there are other energy systems proposed for the post-petroleum era, such as a synthetic fossil fuel system. In this system, synthetic gasoline and synthetic natural gas will be produced using abundant deposits of coal. In a way, this will ensure the continuation of the present fossil fuel system. The two possible energy systems for the post-fossil fuel era (i.e., the solar hydrogen energy system and the synthetic fossil fuel system) are compared with the present fossil fuel system by taking into consideration production costs, environmental damages and utilization efficiencies. The results indicate that the solar hydrogen energy system is the best energy system to ascertain a sustainable future, and it should replace the fossil fuel system before the end of the 21stCentury

The paper reviewed the emerging roles of the 21stcentury librarians, charged with the responsibility to manage repository services across libraries in present-day information technology environment. Librarians need to be trained and empowered with requisite skills and knowledge needed for successful management of the ICT driven repository initiatives that the 21stcentury demands. Literature was reviewed on the roles and responsibilities of librarians, training needs and opportunities, car...

The International Atomic Energy Agency helps its Member States to use nuclear technology for a broad range of peaceful purposes, one of the most important of which is generating electricity. The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan in March 2011 caused anxiety about nuclear safety throughout the world and raised questions about the future of nuclear power. Two years on, it is clear that the use of nuclear power will continue to grow in the coming decades, although growth will be slower than was anticipated before the accident. Many countries with existing nuclear power programmes plan to expand them. Many new countries, both developed and developing, plan to introduce nuclear power. The factors contributing to this growing interest include increasing global demand for energy, as well as concerns about climate change, volatile fossil fuel prices, and security of energy supply. It will be difficult for the world to achieve the twin goals of ensuring sustainable energy supplies and curbing greenhouse gases without nuclear power. The IAEA helps countries that opt for nuclear power to use it safely and securely. Countries that have decided to phase out nuclear power will have to deal with issues such as plant decommissioning, remediation, and waste management for decades to come. The IAEA also assists in these areas. I am grateful to the Russian Federation for hosting the 2013 International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21stCentury in St Petersburg in June. This timely conference provides a valuable opportunity to take stock of nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. A high level of public confidence in the safety of nuclear power is essential for the future of the sector. Much valuable work has been done in the past two years to improve safety. But much remains to be done. It is vitally important that the momentum is maintained and that everything is done to ensure that nuclear power is as safe as humanly

Geoscience knowledge and skills play new roles in the workforce as our society addresses the challenges of living safely and sustainably on Earth. As a result, we expect a wider range of future career opportunities for students with education in the geosciences and related fields. A workshop offered by the InTeGrate STEP Center on 'Geoscience and the 21stCentury Workforce' brought together representatives from 24 programs with a substantial geoscience component, representatives from different employment sectors, and workforce scholars to explore the intersections between geoscience education and employment. As has been reported elsewhere, employment in energy, environmental and extractive sectors for geoscientists with core geology, quantitative and communication skills is expected to be robust over the next decade as demand for resources grow and a significant part of the current workforce retires. Relatively little is known about employment opportunities in emerging areas such as green energy or sustainability consulting. Employers at the workshop from all sectors are seeking the combination of strong technical, quantitative, communication, time management, and critical thinking skills. The specific technical skills are highly specific to the employer and employment needs. Thus there is not a single answer to the question 'What skills make a student employable?'. Employers at this workshop emphasized the value of data analysis, quantitative, and problem solving skills over broad awareness of policy issues. Employers value the ability to articulate an appropriate, effective, creative solution to problems. Employers are also very interested in enthusiasm and drive. Participants felt that the learning outcomes that their programs have in place were in line with the needs expressed by employers. Preparing students for the workforce requires attention to professional skills, as well as to the skills needed to identify career pathways and land a job. This critical

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, Executive Office of the President — As the 21stcenturyapproaches, the rapid convergence of computing, communications, and information technology promises unprecedented opportunities for scientific...

This is an encore presentation of what was presented at the 2012 AGU International Conference. It was entitled: 'The Importance of Water Conservation in the 21stCentury.' The poster presentation, however, has been redesigned and reorganized with new, revised perspectives. The importance of water conservation principles has been emphasized. The population of United States has more than doubled over the past 50 years. The need for water however, has tripled. The EPA estimates that more than 36 states face water shortage during the forthcoming years. The EPA has prepared a plan for achieving environmental and energy performance. This will be coupled with leadership and accountability. Carbon neutrality is also of prime importance. The objective is to focus on six important, essential areas. 1. Efficient use of already available energy resources. 2. Intelligent water consumption and focusing on water conservation. 3. Expand the use of renewable energy resources. 4. Explore innovative transportation systems and methodologies. 5. Change building codes and promote high performance sustainable buildings. 6. Focus on developing creative environment management systems. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide occur naturally in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also emitted to the atmosphere through a variety of natural processes and also some human activities. However, fluorinated gases are emitted to the atmosphere solely through human activities, because they are created by humans. It is very important to observe that water conservation is probably the most cost-effective way to reduce our demand for water. Furthermore, it is certainly environmentally justifiable. The Environmental Protection Agency has a plan called E2PLAN. It is EPA's plan for achieving energy and environmental performance, leadership, accountability, and carbon neutrality. In June 2011, the EPA published a comprehensive, multi-year planning document called Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. The

Proposes some solutions for meeting child health and nutrition needs through school-based initiatives. Suggests that the School Lunch Program of the 21stcentury faces a different set of needs and challenges compared with the program of the 20th century. Argues that with increasing rates of childhood obesity, it is important that educators help…

The main objective of this study is to propose the conceptual framework for the integration of 21stcentury skills in biology education in Malaysia. An interdisciplinary approach for Biology, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BTEM) is suggested to imbibe 21stcentury skills into the existing Biology curriculum. Solving complex and interdisciplinary worldwide biology problems will require students to understand what connections exist across disciplines and how to make those connections....

In this paper we will discuss the software engineering technologyfor the 21stcentury. First we review development over the last half-century, overview application re quirement and environment, accept a challenge. Then we outline following software engineering techniques: 1) Process；2) Analysis；3) Design；4) UML；5) Component；6) Java +XML；7) Integrated；8) Quality(ISO9000&CMM)．

@@ Rice is the staple food crop in China. In the second half of the 20th century, rice has played an important role in feeding a large number of people. In the 21stcentury, rice will still be a main food crop in China and make great contribution to Chinese people's life.

Globally, our transportation systems face increasingly discomforting realities: certain of the legacy air and ground infrastructures of the 20th century will not satisfy our 21stcentury mobility needs. The consequence of inaction is diminished quality of life and economic opportunity for those nations unable to transform from the 20th to 21stcentury systems. Clearly, new thinking is required regarding business models that cater to consumers value of time, airspace architectures that enable those new business models, and technology strategies for innovating at the system-of-networks level. This lecture proposes a structured way of thinking about transformation from the legacy systems of the 20th century toward new systems for the 21stcentury. The comparison and contrast between the legacy systems of the 20th century and the transformed systems of the 21stcentury provides insights into the structure of transformation of air transportation. Where the legacy systems tend to be analog (versus digital), centralized (versus distributed), and scheduled (versus on-demand) for example, transformed 21stcentury systems become capable of scalability through technological, business, and policy innovations. Where air mobility in our legacy systems of the 20th century brought economic opportunity and quality of life to large service markets, transformed air mobility of the 21stcentury becomes more equitable available to ever-thinner and widely distributed populations. Several technological developments in the traditional aircraft disciplines as well as in communication, navigation, surveillance and information systems create new foundations for 21st thinking about air transportation. One of the technological developments of importance arises from complexity science and modern network theory. Scale-free (i.e., scalable) networks represent a promising concept space for modeling airspace system architectures, and for assessing network performance in terms of robustness

Infection continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nuclear medicine has an important role in aiding the diagnosis of particularly deep-seated infections such as abscesses, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, and infections of prosthetic devices. Established techniques such as radiolabelled leucocytes are sensitive and specific for inflammation but do not distinguish between infective and non-infective inflammation. The challenge for Nuclear Medicine in infection imaging in the 21stcentury is to build on the recent trend towards the development of more infection specific radiopharmaceuticals, such as radiolabelled anti-infectives (e.g. 99 m Tc ciprofloxacin). In addition to aiding early diagnosis of infection, through serial imaging these agents might prove very useful in monitoring the response to and determining the optimum duration of anti-infective therapy. This article reviews the current approach to infection imaging with radiopharmaceuticals nd the future direction it might take. (author)

Full Text Available Constitutions have been made or changed in major ways in more than half the countries of the world in recent decades. This article deals with contemporary approaches to constitution-making, organising the analysis around three key phases: setting the agenda, in terms of both substance and process; design, drafting and approval; and implementation. It argues that, while all constitution-making processes are different, there are some distinctive features of constitution-making in the 21stcentury that include popular participation, the need to build trust, internationalisation in its various forms and the importance of process. The article canvasses examples of constitution-making practices that have been or are likely to be influential. It identifies and briefly explores some of the key tensions in constitution-making between, for example, international involvement and domestic ownership of a Constitution and public participation and leadership.

The excitement of playing an instrument is one of the greatest motivating forces in teaching general music to students. The autoharp, which may be long forgotten in the general music classrooms of the 21stcentury, is an ideal instrument to "re-introduce" to students. The teaching of a traditional folk instrument provides advantages for…

The goal of this paper is to illustrate how the promotion of 21stCentury process skills can be used to enhance student learning and workplace skill development: thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, leadership, and management. As an illustrative case, fashion merchandising and design students conducted research for a…

Provides background information on the life and career of Grandma Moses who was born as Anna Mary Robertson and painted in the style of folk or naive art. Addresses the art exhibition entitled "Grandma Moses in the 21stCentury" that explores the recurring themes in her artwork. (CMK)

The purpose of this paper is to create the foundation for ongoing dialogue around how 21stcentury knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in educator preparation, and to guide the development of resources and services to support educator programs. This paper aims to: (1) Develop a blueprint for building the models, tools, resource…

What kinds of teachers are needed for 21stcentury learners? While there is recognition that curriculum content, classroom practices and learning environments must alter, there is less attention focussed on the teachers' dispositions for negotiating uncertainty. In this paper, the authors turn their attention to the importance of teachers' lives…

Leadership in the 21stcentury will require new insights and a new paradigm. With nearly 100 years of combined experience in community college teaching and administration, the authors of this chapter blend theory and experience into a design for engaging the "new normal."

This paper is based on the deliberations of the Assessment Working Group at EDUsummIT 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. All of the members of Thematic Working Group 5 (TWG5) have contributed to this synthesis of potentials, concerns and issues with regard to the role of technology in assessment as, for and of learning in the 21stcentury. The group…

Skills students will need for the society in which they will work and live shouldn't be thought of as "one more thing to teach," but rather training integrated across all curricula. This article takes a look at 21stcentury skills and how these skills directly impact teaching and learning. Classroom teachers need to be familiar with these skills…

The seminal tenets of progressive education bear a striking resemblance to the newly fashionable principles associated with with a new movement known as "21stCentury Education". This article traces the development of progressive education principles, starting with the founding of the Progressive Education Association, and shows their close…

What content knowledge and skills will today's physics students need to acquire to be successful employees in the 21stcentury? How can today's physics classrooms prepare students for collaboration in a global work environment? What kind of instruction can engage physics students in learning that supports these demands? Attend this session to find out what motivates today's Net Generation.

Cyber portfolio is a valuable innovative menu for teachers who seek out strategies or methods to integrate technology into their lessons. This paper presents a straightforward preparation on how to innovate a menu that addresses the 21stcentury skills blended with higher order thinking skills, multiple intelligence, technology and multimedia.…

The 21stCentury Power Partnership - a multilateral effort of the Clean Energy Ministerial - serves as a platform for public-private collaboration to advance integrated solutions for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy in combination with deep energy ef?ciency and smart grid solutions.

Oil and natural gas, water, food, and minerals are critical to ensuring our wellbeing and prosperity. The mismatch between future demand and supply is crystallizing into one of the most complex and urgent issues policymakers will face in the 21stCentury. Unless the challenges arising from these sca

In order to ensure that the United States maintains an advanced information infrastructure, the Council on Competitiveness has started a project on the 21stcentury infrastructure. Participating in this project are the many different parties who are providing and using the infrastructure, including cable companies, regional Bell companies, long…

This reflection paper argues that the design and development of digital games teach essential 21stcentury skills. Intrinsic to application and game development is design thinking. Design thinking requires iterative development, which demands creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Students are engaged through learning by doing in both…

In November 2008, the National Council of Teachers of English published "The NCTE Definition of 21stCentury Literacies" (21CL); its objectives include using technology, producing and analyzing multimedia texts, accessing and evaluating complex research sources, building relationships to enable collaboration, considering the diversity of a global…

A new set of leadership skills is required for Extension administrators for the 21stcentury. Past models and theories are reviewed and discussed. The old "power" model of leadership is no longer relevant. A relatively new model called "Servant Leadership" is reviewed and explained. Seven key practices of servant leadership are outlined, and the…

"Emerging: Negotiating Identity in a 21stCentury American Seminary" is an ethnographic investigation involving a diverse group of students as they experience their first year of graduate-level theological education at a Protestant seminary in the United States. The study analyzes the observations and student interviews that form the core of the…

Maoist insurgency. (5) Glacier lakes are in many cases very fragile and their natural dams routinely rupture, causing devastating floods. A rising regional terrorist threat in several countries could target these dams and precipitate calamitous and terrifying results. (6) Over the next century, retreating glaciers may open new corridors for trade and human migration across the Himalaya and pave the way for possible new economic, military and political alliances in the region. (7) Glacier retreat might open new sanctuaries for terrorists and open new corridors for possible ground-based military offensive action across the HKH ranges. The documentation of glacier characteristics that may influence their trafficability, and projections of future glacier extent and behavior are relevant to wide ranging concerns of the region's inhabitants. Satellite remote sensing and mapping of glaciers is one approach to defining and monitoring the problems and opportunities presented by HKH glaciers. Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) is a joint USGS/NASA Pathfinder project that has formed a global consortium of glaciologists in several regional centers that are mapping and monitoring the HKH glaciers using repeat-pass ASTER and Landsat ETM+ data. We are currently building a comprehensive satellite multispectral image and GIS database that is providing detailed information on the state and rates of change of each glacier in the HKH region and other areas of the world. Merging these results with DEMs allows a predictive capability that could be useful in policy development and security planning.

World Bank; Asian Development Bank; United Nations Development Program

2000-01-01

The study outlines the socioeconomic development strategy for Vietnam, during the first decade of the twenty first century, envisaging sustainable economic development, to rapidly adjust to social stability, while maintaining cultural, and traditional ties. The aim is to become a socialist market economy, fully integrated into the global economy, internationally competitive, with character...

In this contribution to the volume honouring Ott Ch. Hilgenberg the main directions of thought in the field of geotectonics at the beginning of the 21stcentury are reviewed. However, because of its seminal importance for the geological thinking during most of the last century, the Wegener (continental drift) hypothesis is also included and opens the review. It is followed by the critical presentation of Plate tectonics and the hypotheses of Earth expansion, Surge tectonics and Wrench tectoni...

Educating students to traditional literacy standards is no longer enough. If students are to thrive in their academic and 21stcentury careers, then independent and creative thinking hold the highest currency. The authors explain in detail how to add these new components of literacy: (1) Solution Fluency; (2) Information Fluency; (3) Creativity…

The past century of interstellar dust has brought us from first ignoring it to finding that it plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Current observational results in our galaxy provide a complex physical and chemical evolutionary picture of interstellar dust starting with the formation of small refractory particles in stellar atmospheres to their modification in diffuse and molecular clouds and ultimately to their contribution to star forming regions. Observations of the properties of dust in very young galaxies will be an important probe of the rates of star formation in terms of the production and destruction of dust grains. Future observations of dust at high spectral and spatial resolution will provide detailed information on processes in collapsing clouds up to star formation. Space missions to comets in the next century will first study them in situ but ultimately will bring back pristine nucleus material which will contain the end product of the collapsing protosolar molecular cloud at ...

Internet publication will radically alter how chemists will publish their research in the next century. In this article, we describe two fundamental changes: enhanced chemical publication which allows chemists to publish materials that cannot be published on paper and end-user customization which allows readers to read articles prepared to meet their specifications. These concepts have been implemented within the Internet Journal of Chemistry, a new journal designed to employ the latest techn...

Flexibility of operation--the ability of a power system to respond to change in demand and supply--is a characteristic of all power systems. Flexibility is especially prized in twenty-first century power systems, with higher levels of grid-connected variable renewable energy (primarily, wind and solar). This paper summarizes the analytic frameworks that have emerged to measure this characteristic and distills key principles of flexibility for policy makers.

The past century of interstellar dust has brought us from first ignoring it to finding that it plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Current observational results in our galaxy provide a complex physical and chemical evolutionary picture of interstellar dust starting with the formation of small refractory particles in stellar atmospheres to their modification in diffuse and molecular clouds and ultimately to their contribution to star forming regions. Observations of the prope...

An alternative paradigm for nutrition and fitness education centers on understanding and developing skill in implementing a play approach to learning about healthful eating and promoting active play in the context of the child, the family, and the school. The play approach is defined as a process for learning that is intrinsically motivated, enjoyable, freely chosen, nonliteral, safe, and actively engaged in by young learners. Making choices, assuming responsibility for one's decisions and actions, and having fun are inherent components of the play approach to learning. In this approach, internal cognitive transactions and intrinsic motivation are the primary forces that ultimately determine healthful choices and life habits. Theoretical models of children's learning--the dynamic systems theory and the cognitive-developmental theory of Jean Piaget--provide a theoretical basis for nutrition and fitness education in the 21stcentury. The ultimate goal is to develop partnerships of children, families, and schools in ways that promote the well-being of children and translate into healthful life habits. The play approach is an ongoing process of learning that is applicable to learners of all ages. PMID:7560683

The major technological developments in equipment, designed to harness new and renewable sources of energy, have only taken place in the last four decades of the twentieth century, although the principles involved have been previously known for many centuries and were clearly formulated in many of the ancient civilizations. The term renewable energy (RE) itself is of relatively recent origin and only came into widespread use worldwide in the eighties, after the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1981, Ref 1. Currently, the term renewable s is extensively used to describe the full range of direct and indirect uses of solar radiation incident on the earth's surface, and is often extended to include energy resources, such as tidal power or geothermal energy, neither of which is strictly renewable in the true sense of the word. Energy extracted from biomass is also generally included under this heading, although biomass is truly renewable only if continuous plantation development and replanting is carried out as the biomass is harvested. On a global scale, relatively extensive teaching about renewable energy started in the late seventies and early eighties, after the first impact of the OPEC oil price shock. Up till this time, there were only a few centres around the world where individual dedicated researchers and university teachers were involved in such activity. The next impetus to course and teaching material development came with national movements for energy independence and finally, in the latter years of this century, considerable stimulation has been given due to the increasing realisation of global environmental factors such as global warming, ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere, acid rain formation, and many other environmental degradation effects due to the increasing use of fossil fuel reserves. Considerable attention has been focused in the last twenty years through the many national and

Full Text Available This article presents the successive changes and evolution of the frameworks for 21stcentury competencies, since the appearance of the first conceptual models during the final years of the last century, and also it is a review of the competencies that are needed in the 21stcentury with a special focus on the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT competencies. The included frameworks have been elaborated by diverse institutions such as international organizations, private consortia and also governments as a guideline for educational policies in elementary and secondary schools. Later, the frameworks are compared and analyzed according to a classification of the competencies into general categories, in order to visualize some trends and obtain some insights about the direction they are heading. Finally, it provides some suggestions for the conception of future frameworks.

Plants by virtue of its composition of containing multiple constituents developed during its growth under various environmental stresses providing a plethora of chemical families with medicinal utility. Researchers are exploring this wealth and trying to decode its utility for enhancing health standards of human beings. Diabetes is dreadful lifestyle disorder of 21stcentury caused due to lack of insulin production or insulin physiological unresponsiveness. The chronic impact of untreated dia...

Global warming is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the twenty-first century, but the relative contributions from changes in moisture supply (precipitation) versus evaporative demand (potential evapotranspiration; PET) have not been comprehensively assessed. Using output from a suite of general circulation model (GCM) simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, projected twentyfirst century drying and wetting trends are investigated using two offline indices of surface moisture balance: the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). PDSI and SPEI projections using precipitation and Penman- Monteith based PET changes from the GCMs generally agree, showing robust cross-model drying in western North America, Central America, the Mediterranean, southern Africa, and the Amazon and robust wetting occurring in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes and east Africa (PDSI only). The SPEI is more sensitive to PET changes than the PDSI, especially in arid regions such as the Sahara and Middle East. Regional drying and wetting patterns largely mirror the spatially heterogeneous response of precipitation in the models, although drying in the PDSI and SPEI calculations extends beyond the regions of reduced precipitation. This expansion of drying areas is attributed to globally widespread increases in PET, caused by increases in surface net radiation and the vapor pressure deficit. Increased PET not only intensifies drying in areas where precipitation is already reduced, it also drives areas into drought that would otherwise experience little drying or even wetting from precipitation trends alone. This PET amplification effect is largest in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, and is especially pronounced in western North America, Europe, and southeast China. Compared to PDSI projections using precipitation changes only, the projections incorporating both

Purpose To examine the processes used to procure and develop new primary health care premises in the United Kingdom and in particular the use of the private finance initiative and related methods. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth study of two local improvement finance trust schemes to procure new primary health care premises. These are contrasted against the ad-hoc arrangements for the traditional procurement of general practice doctor's surgery premises. Interviews were und...

This paper discusses different issues related to the development of the space technology. The purpose is to analyse different parameters such as cost of the advanced and key technologies, development approach for long-term development and criterion for long-term development. Implications of the modern technology on the social and economic life have also been discussed. Apart from this, the challenges involved inthe future developments and applications have been discussed.

Full Text Available This paper discusses different issues related to the development of the space technology. The purpose is to analyse different parameters such as cost of the advanced and key technologies, development approach for long-term development and criterion for long-term development. Implications of the modern technology on the social and economic life have also been discussed. Apart from this, the challenges involved inthe future developments and applications have been discussed.

21stCentury Kinematics focuses on algebraic problems in the analysis and synthesis of mechanisms and robots, compliant mechanisms, cable-driven systems and protein kinematics. The specialist contributors provide the background for a series of presentations at the 2012 NSF Workshop. The text shows how the analysis and design of innovative mechanical systems yield increasingly complex systems of polynomials, characteristic of those systems. In doing so, takes advantage of increasingly sophisticated computational tools developed for numerical algebraic geometry and demonstrates the now routine derivation of polynomial systems dwarfing the landmark problems of even the recent past. The 21stCentury Kinematics workshop echoes the NSF-supported 1963 Yale Mechanisms Teachers Conference that taught a generation of university educators the fundamental principles of kinematic theory. As such these proceedings will be provide admirable supporting theory for a graduate course in modern kinematics and should be of consid...

This paper present soldier communication net scheme, which survives and operates in the 21stcentury battlefield environment. First, it analyzes the features, the need, function of the soldier communication net on the 21stcentury battlefield environment. Secondly it presents a layered model of the soldier communication net, derived from the OSI theory, and discusses the design of the 3 layers, link layer, link controller and input/output applications layer. Thirdly, it present some key technical discussion concerning with the direct-sequence-spread-spectrum communication, code/decode and low power consumption. Finally, it gives the conclusion that spread spectrum time division system is the best scheme of soldier communication net.

The field of neuroscience is enjoying a rapid expansion in scope, coupled with a remarkable broadening of conceptual approaches, scientific tools, and clinical applications. This growth poses new challenges for academic training programs as they prepare young neuroscientists for a more complex, competitive, and diverse career landscape. Multiple stakeholders, including academia, federal funding agencies, industry, scientific societies, private foundations, and other public and private sector contributors, need to be actively engaged in supporting this broad training effort. A renewed commitment to a more forward-looking, flexible yet integrative training vision offers opportunities for a bright future for young neuroscientists as they assume the role of vanguard of the enterprise that enriches our understanding of the brain. PMID:27253446

Based on a review of the development of laboratory electromagnets, perspectives for the next generation of pulsed magnets are discussed. Record fields are now approaching the 75T mark, and large efforts are made on an international scale in order to move into the region between 75 and 100T. Simple scaling laws indicate that these magnets will have a small bore and a short pulse duration of order 10ms. Fields above 100T are obtained by destructive methods, using high explosives (up to 2000T) and capacitor banks (up to 300T with the single turn coil and up to 600T with flux compression by implosion). The pulse duration is governed by shock waves, and therefore, restricted to the microsecond range. Efficient use of all these magnets calls for miniaturisation of both magnets and experiments, and the development of experimental techniques that are adapted to these conditions

National curricula need to change drastically to comply with the competences needed for the 21stcentury. In this paper eight frameworks describing 21stcentury competences were analysed. A comprehensive search for information about 21stcentury competences was conducted across the official websites

This dissertation reflects the outcomes of a small school district that is successfully incorporating 21stcentury skills with the demands set forth by our current educational policy, No Child Left Behind. Considerations regarding globalization, future work force and work skills, definition of 21stcentury skills, supporting 21stcentury skills in…

Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the 21stcentury" has been the most important book economy in recent times. Its aim integrates the debate theories of growth, income distribution, inequality and differences between the extremes income and income of the majority. The work predicts a slow increase in the share of capital income and inequality. His proposal for a global tax on capital is a way to evaluate such tendencies.

Today?s job market demands not only sound technical skills from their potential employees. When employers talk about graduates being job ready, they really mean that the graduates possess the skills of the 21stcentury, which include ability to seek information and critically analyze situations, ability to challenge ideas, being innovative and being able to communicate ideas. In realizing these needs, education systems have long since started to look into incorporating activities that could h...

Developing a 21stCentury Global Library for Mathematics Research discusses how information about what the mathematical literature contains can be formalized and made easier to express, encode, and explore. Many of the tools necessary to make this information system a reality will require much more than indexing and will instead depend on community input paired with machine learning, where mathematicians' expertise can fill the gaps of automatization. This report proposes the establishment of...

The job market for nursing graduates is changing, and nursing schools must respond to the changes. The author describes the process of using focus groups to facilitate a constructive dialogue between nurse administrators, clinicians, educators, and students. The groups focused on adapting the curriculum to changing market conditions. Recommendations and outcomes are highlighted. Nursing educators are encouraged to critically examine their own programs in preparation for the 21stcentury. PMID:9069929

Gaps between Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM disciplines and ask whether frameworks for 21stcentury skills and engineering education cover all of important STEM competencies. In this study, we identif...

The 21stcentury has witnessed the intensification of relations between Zimbabwe and the East and other favorable states, Russia among them. Historically under the socialist rhetoric the two countries shared a common political ideology. Zimbabwe- Russia relations dates back to the era of the liberation struggle. The Soviet Union aided Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe People's Union and later the Patriotic Front which included Mugabe's Zimbabwe National African Union. The Soviet Union aided...

Liberating services customers is the business challenge of the 21stcentury. Many service organizations have organizational structures and processes that are better designed to control customers than to serve customers. Such structures and processes often result in poor services and sometimes they become disservices. Customers deserve to be liberated from such service structures and processes. Customers deserve better service! In this article, I examine four topics regarding liberating ser...

A major problem in many vaccination programmes aimed at the effective immunization of human and agricultural animal populations is the logistics of sustained vaccine delivery. These problems stem from the formulation of the vaccine antigen, the selection of adjuvants, the cost of production, quality control, the shelf-life of the vaccine itself, delivery to the target population and ensuring an appropriate programme of injections so that full immunity develops. The authors wish to explore the idea of an essentially passive system for the delivery of vaccines. Over a number of years, they have focused their attention on the development of transgenic technology in insect vectors of animal and human disease. One essential stage in the life cycle of these insects, and the reason why they act as vectors of disease causing agents, is the necessity for a bloodmeal. The authors have been exploring the concept of using these haematophagous insects as a vehicle to deliver antigens directly to human and animal populations as one part of an overall immunization programme. The concept essentially involves creating transgenic haematophagous insects which are capable of expressing the desired antigens in their saliva, so that when they take a bloodmeal a small amount of antigen is delivered to the host. Current data strongly suggest that over a prolonged period of time this repeated low level exposure to the vaccine antigen could potentially lead to immunity in the human or animal host. The progress which has been made in developing this approach, together with its potential advantages and disadvantages, is discussed. (author)

This work provides historical context about scorpion studies from the end of the 19th century to the present day. The content is mainly addressed to non-zoologists, working in research fields that embrace scorpion biology, notably to those working with venoms and toxins. The historical aspects described include academic professional scholars who worked on scorpion classification and general distribution patterns; and to a lesser extent, on studies of ecology and natural history. The aim is no...

The first 13th years of the 21stcentury has begun with a series of widespread, long and intensive droughts around the world. Extreme and severe-to-extreme intensity droughts covered 2-6% and 7-16% of the world land, respectively, affecting environment, economies and humans. These droughts reduced agricultural production, leading to food shortages, human health deterioration, poverty, regional disturbances, population migration and death. This presentation is a travelogue of the 21stcentury global and regional droughts during the warmest years of the past 100 years. These droughts were identified and monitored with the NOAA operational space technology, called Vegetation Health (VH), which has the longest period of observation and provide good data quality. The VH method was used for assessment of vegetation condition or health, including drought early detection and monitoring. The VH method is based on operational satellites data estimating both land surface greenness (NDVI) and thermal conditions. The 21stcentury droughts in the USA, Russia, Australia Argentina, Brazil, China, India and other principal grain producing countries were intensive, long, covered large areas and caused huge losses in agricultural production, which affected food and environmental security and led to food riots in some countries. This presentation investigate how droughts affect food and environmental security, if they can be detected earlier, how to monitor their area, intensity, duration and impacts and also their dynamics during the climate warming era with satellite-based vegetation health technology.

A strategic approach for retaining and more efficiently operating the essential Langley Ground Testing Facilities in the 21stCentury is presented. This effort takes advantage of the previously completed and ongoing studies at the Agency and National levels. This integrated approach takes into consideration the overall decline in test business base within the nation and reduced utilization in each of the Langley facilities with capabilities to test in the subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic speed regimes. The strategy accounts for capability needs to meet the Agency programmatic requirements and strategic goals and to execute test activities in the most efficient and flexible facility operating structure. The structure currently being implemented at Langley offers agility to right-size our capability and capacity from a national perspective, to accommodate the dynamic nature of the testing needs, and will address the influence of existing and emerging analytical tools for design. The paradigm for testing in the retained facilities is to efficiently and reliably provide more accurate and high-quality test results at an affordable cost to support design information needs for flight regimes where the computational capability is not adequate and to verify and validate the existing and emerging computational tools. Each of the above goals are planned to be achieved, keeping in mind the increasing small industry customer base engaged in developing unpiloted aerial vehicles and commercial space transportation systems.

Full Text Available Although tumors on the surface of the skin are considered to be easily recognizable, neglected advanced skin neoplasms are encountered even in the 21stcentury. There can be numerous causes of the delay in the diagnosis: fear of the diagnosis and the treatment, becoming accustomed to a slowly growing tumor, old age, a low social milieu, and an inadequate hygienic culture are among the factors leading some people not to seek medical advice. The treatment of such advanced neoplasms is usually challenging. The therapy of neglected cases demands an individual multidisciplinary approach and teamwork. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC, the most common cutaneous tumor, usually develops in the elderly, grows slowly, and has an extremely low metastatic potential; these factors are suggesting that BCCs might well be the “ideal candidates” for neglected tumors. Five neglected advanced cases of BCC were diagnosed in our dermatological institute between 2000 and 2009. The clinical characteristics and treatment modalities of these neoplasms are discussed, together with the possible causes of the neglect.

Estimates of 21stCentury global-mean surface temperature increase have generally been based on scenarios that do not include climate policies. Newly developed multigas mitigation scenarios, based on a wide range of modeling approaches and socioeconomic assumptions, now allow the assessment of possible impacts of climate policies on projected warming ranges. This article assesses the atmospheric CO(2) concentrations, radiative forcing, and temperature increase for these new scenarios using two reduced-complexity climate models. These scenarios result in temperature increase of 0.5-4.4 degrees C over 1990 levels or 0.3-3.4 degrees C less than the no-policy cases. The range results from differences in the assumed stringency of climate policy and uncertainty in our understanding of the climate system. Notably, an average minimum warming of approximately 1.4 degrees C (with a full range of 0.5-2.8 degrees C) remains for even the most stringent stabilization scenarios analyzed here. This value is substantially above previously estimated committed warming based on climate system inertia alone. The results show that, although ambitious mitigation efforts can significantly reduce global warming, adaptation measures will be needed in addition to mitigation to reduce the impact of the residual warming. PMID:18838680

Many classrooms in higher education still rely on a transformative approach to teaching where students attend lectures and earn course grades through examination. In the modern age, traditional lectures are argued by some as obsolete and do not address the learning needs of today’s students. An emerging pedagogical approach is the concept of the flipped classroom. The flipped classroom can simply be described as students viewing asynchronous video lectures on their own and then engaging in active learning during scheduled class times. In this study, we examined the flipped classroom teaching environment on student learning gains in an Introduction to Equine Science course. Students (n = 130) were asked to view 7.5 h of recorded lectures divided into 8 learning modules, take online quizzes to enforce lecture viewing, take 3 in-class exams, and prepare to participate in active learning during scheduled class times. Active learning approaches included individual activities, paired activities, informal small groups, and large group activities. When compared to students in the traditional lecture format in earlier years, students in the flipped format scored higher on all 3 exams (P flipped format students were asked to take the Cornell Critical Thinking Exam (version X). Scores improved from the pretest (50.8 ± 0.57) to the posttest (54.4 ± 0.58; P flipped course, no correlations were found with student performance and interactions with online content. Students were asked in class to evaluate their experiences based on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The flipped classroom was ranked as an enjoyable learning experience with a mean of 4.4 ± 0.10, while students responded positively to other pointed questions. In formal course evaluations, flipped format students ranked the following higher (P flipped classroom proved to be a positive learning experience for students. As the classroom continues to modernize, pedagogical approaches

The projected changes in carbon exchange between China terrestrial ecosystem and the atmosphere and vegetation and soil carbon storage during the 21stcentury were investigated using an atmos-phere-vegetation interaction model (AVIM2). The results show that in the coming 100 a, for SRES B2 scenario and constant atmospheric CO2 concentration, the net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystem in China will be decreased slowly, and vegetation and soil carbon storage as well as net ecosystem productivity (NEP) will also be decreased. The carbon sink for China terrestrial ecosystem in the beginning of the 20th century will become totally a carbon source by the year of 2020, while for B2 scenario and changing atmospheric CO2 concentration, NPP for China will increase continuously from 2.94 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 20th century to 3.99 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 21stcentury, and vegetation and soil carbon storage will increase to 110.3 GtC. NEP in China will keep rising during the first and middle periods of the 21stcentury, and reach the peak around 2050s, then will decrease gradually and approach to zero by the end of the 21stcentury.

Full Text Available To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity condition already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions initiative (WFaS coordinates its work with other on-going scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs and the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs. The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water-energy-climate nexus.

To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years, and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity conditions already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of the world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative coordinates its work with other ongoing scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) and the representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water-energy-climate nexus.

To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity condition already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions initiative (WFaS) coordinates its work with other on-going scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water-energy-climate nexus.

Contemporary challenges confronting special education teachers include, in part, workload, role ambiguity, evaluation, and shortages. Based on these and other challenges, the piece-meal fragmented approach to pre- and in-service training, which exists currently, needs to be replaced with 21stcentury models of special education teacher development…

How can institutions of higher education, local education agencies, and departments of education partner to build capacity for 21st-Century school leadership? The model (IMPACT V) we describe utilizes a systems-wide partnership approach to cultivate shared leadership within influenced middle and high schools statewide to leverage technology as a…

The revised Core Arts Standards offer music educators the chance to examine the contradictions that currently permeate the arts advocacy discourse. This article examines the emphasis on 21st-century workplace skills in claims made by arts advocacy proponents. An alternative approach focuses instead on lifelong learning in the arts and the array of…

It is often assumed that the advent of digital technologies requires fundamental change to the curriculum and to the teaching and learning approaches used in schools around the world to educate this generation of "digital natives" or the "net generation". This article analyses the concepts of 21st-century skills and critical…

Full Text Available In the aftermath of the 2008/09 financial crisis, business schools had to face increasing criticism to have failed equipping their students with a broad and critical understanding of management and business practices which go beyond pure self-interest. Business schools are supposed to contribute to a holistic understanding of management which creates value along a triple bottom line: profit, people and planet. The triple bottom line finds its realization in the concept of sustainable corporate responsibility. This paper discusses possible approaches for business schools how to educate students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy. On the basis of the recently published Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME as well as contemporary learning theories, the paper provides concrete recommendations how to foster students’ development towards long-term thinking, responsible business leaders. The paper argues that student learning needs to occur within powerful learning environments to provide an active, problem-based and self-directed acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Two approaches to create best-practice learning environments are real-life case studies and real-life student projects which both lead to a strong buy in of students, faculty and company partners. Both approaches are exemplified with the bachelor degree program International Management at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland. As a conclusion, a responsible management education fosters the students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards responsible business leadership to shape the future direction of the 21stcentury.

The ways of schooling and teaching is quickly changing for the continuous evolution of the surrounding world: new forms of education are required; in fact, on the one side the birth of the smart cities and the smart community ask for active citizens interacting with institutions and on the other side the enormous potentiality of ICT is modifying both the learning environments and the training models. The so called “21stcentury schools”, differ from the current ones in almost all the aspects:...

The design of complex “engineered” systems in the 21stcentury poses a set of common challenges, to name a few, the complexity and computational cost of system analysis, the heterogeneity of information at different levels of abstraction, the various sources of uncertainties, the multidisciplinary...... preference into enterprise-driven product design. Research in multiscale design presents the significant benefits of using computational design techniques for designing novel materials, new products, and new processes with exceptional system performance across diverse application domains such as material...

The 21stCentury Power Partnership's program in Mexico (21CPP Mexico) is one initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, carried out in cooperation with government and local stakeholders, drawing upon an international community of power system expertise. The overall goal of this program is to support Mexico's power system transformation by accelerating the transition to a reliable, financially robust, and low-carbon system. 21CPP Mexico activities focus on achieving positive outcomes for all participants, especially addressing critical questions and challenges facing policymakers, regulators, and system operators. In support of this goal, 21CPP Mexico taps into deep networks of expertise and professional connections.

The 21stCentury is the time for human seeking harmonizing with environment and carrying out sustainable development strategy. But sustainable development is facing many challenges. They may mainly include the follows: challenge comes from the contradiction between human and the earth, challenge of local benefit conflict to human common goal, challenge of competition to fairness, challenge of unbalanced development in regions and countries, challenge of diversity and challenge of calamity. Challenges are not only pressure, but also the motive force. Challenge exists, the motive force would never stop. Sustainable development was born in challenges, is developing in contradiction and will sustain in conflict.

The reconstruction and prediction of solar activity is one of the current problems in dynamo theory and global climate modeling. We estimate the Total Solar Irradiance for the next hundred years based on the Least Square Support Vector Machine. We found that the next secular solar minimum will occur between the years 2003 and 2063 with an average of 1365.4W/m2 close to the Dalton or Modern minima. We calculate the radiative forcing between the modern maximum and the 21stcentury minimum to be...

The reconstruction and prediction of solar activity is one of the current problems in dynamo theory and global climate modeling. We estimate the Total Solar Irradiance for the next hundred years based on the Least Square Support Vector Machine. We found that the next secular solar minimum will occur between the years 2003 and 2063 with an average of 1365.4W/m2 close to the Dalton or Modern minima. We calculate the radiative forcing between the modern maximum and the 21stcentury minimum to be -0.1W/m2.

Libraries and librarians have been defined by the book throughout modern history. What happens when society increasingly lets print go in favour of storing, retrieving and manipulating electronic information? What happens after the book? After the Book explores how the academic library of the 21stCentury is first and foremost a provider of electronic information services. Contemporary users expect today's library to provide information as quickly and efficiently as other online information resources. The book argues that librarians need to change what they know, how they work, and how they ar

Full Text Available In the 21stcentury, higher education (HE will play a very crucial role; in spite of its limited resources, HE should be able to respond to the challenges caused by the very fast advancement of technology. For this purpose managers of HE should be professional, those who are prepared to become the managers, so that they reflect wide perspectives, good attitudes, and quality skills in managing the HE in such a competitive era. Higher education leadership is expected to make use of the system and opportunity to improve its performance

Evidence on a broad range of time scales, from Proterozoic to the most recent periods, shows that the Earth's climate responds sensitively to global forcings. In the past few decades the Earth's surface has warmed rapidly, apparently in response to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The conventional view is that the current global warming rate will continue or accelerate in the 21stcentury. I will describe an alternate scenario that would slow the rate of global warming and reduce the danger of dramatic climate change. But reliable prediction of future climate change requires improved knowledge of the carbon cycle and global observations that allow interpretation of ongoing climate change.

The 21stCentury Jobs Initiative has been launched in the context of new realities in Washington, D.C., rapid restructuring of the US economy and accelerating changes in the makeup of the East Tennessee economy driven by these and other external economic forces. Continuing downward pressure on Federal budgets for programs that support three key institutions in the region - DOE`s Oak Ridge complex, the Tennessee Valley Authority and research programs of the University of Tennessee - are especially threatening to the region. With a large part of its economy dependent on Federal spending, the area is at risk of troublesome impacts that could ripple out from the Oak Ridge and Knoxville home of these institutions throughout the entire 15-county {open_quotes}Resource Valley.{close_quotes} As these economic forces play out in the region`s economy, important questions arise. How will East Tennessee {open_quotes}earn its living{close_quotes} in the future if the Federal government role in the economy shrinks? What kind of new industries will be formed to replace those at risk due to Federal cutbacks and economic restructuring? Where will the jobs come from for the next generation of job seekers? These are among the questions driving the 21stCentury Jobs Initiative, an action-oriented program designed and implemented by local leaders in response to the economic challenges facing East Tennessee. Fortunately, the region`s economy is strong today. Unemployment is at near record lows in most counties. Moreover, leaders are increasingly aware of the threats on the horizon and are already moving to action. And the impacts from the forces at work on the economy will probably come slowly, over the next decade or so. Based on economic research and input from local leaders knowledgeable about the economy, the 21stCentury Jobs Initiative has set forth a strategic economic development plan for the region.

Growing pressure on the world's water resources is having major impacts on our social and economic well-being. According to the United Nations, today, at least 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Pressures on water resources are likely to continue to worsen in response to decaying and crumbling infrastructure, continued population growth, climate change, degradation of water quality, and other challenges. If these challenges are not addressed, they pose future risks for many countries around the world, making it urgent that efforts are made to understand both the nature of the problems and the possible solutions that can effectively reduce the associated risks. There is growing understanding of the need to rethink governance to meet the 21stcentury water challenges. More and more water problems extend over traditional national boundaries and to the global community and the types and numbers of organizations addressing water issues are large and growing. Economic globalization and transnational organizations and activities point to the need for improving coordination and integration on addressing water issues, which are increasingly tied to food and energy security, trade, global climate change, and other international policies. We will present some of the key limitations of global water governance institutions and provide recommendations for improving these institutions to address 21stcentury global water challenges more effectively.

Full Text Available The paper reviewed the emerging roles of the 21stcentury librarians, charged with the responsibility to manage repository services across libraries in present-day information technology environment. Librarians need to be trained and empowered with requisite skills and knowledge needed for successful management of the ICT driven repository initiatives that the 21stcentury demands. Literature was reviewed on the roles and responsibilities of librarians, training needs and opportunities, career path and recruitment of librarians, and community support necessary for effective and efficient implementation and management of repository initiatives. This entails the ability to comprehend trends and change patterns which are essential for providing research focused and user-friendly models in open repository services that are based on thorough analytical understanding of the challenges of emerging trends. To achieve this requires the training and retraining of librarians to reposition them as information specialists in their career path. The role of the library as an integral part of its social environment is to educate the community about the existence of an open repository by building partnership with community-oriented research centres through seminars, workshops, symposium, training, and awareness programmes. The study recommends that librarians should strategize and collaborate with researchers to make open repository an essential research tool.

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the weaknesses of different democracies of the world in 21stcentury and suggests some solutions to them. Among the living democracies of the world all of them are not exemplary and among the mediocre ones too all of them are not too bad. Some of the countries are justifying with the splendid principle of democracy and leaving the examples of good governance, self reliance, supremacy of Law and Rule of Equality for the rest of the world. On the other hand some of the countries are still striving hard to establish or retrieve the democracy. We need an ideal of democracy which renders it possible to access to what degree a world government serving a sovereign world parliament could be democratic and independent in order to be prosperous and capable of standing on its own feet in the 21stcentury. A strong democratic system of government is the only way out for the self reliance and stability of the country. This paper is aimed to identify the problems faced by today’s democratic countries and their solution.

n 2012, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) engaged the scientific community to provide a vision for cancer epidemiology in the 21stcentury. Eight overarching thematic recommendations, with proposed corresponding actions for consideration by funding agencies, professional societies, and the research community emerged from the collective intellectual discourse. The themes are (i) extending the reach of epidemiology beyond discovery and etiologic research to include multilevel analysis, intervention evaluation, implementation, and outcomes research; (ii) transforming the practice of epidemiology by moving toward more access and sharing of protocols, data, metadata, and specimens to foster collaboration, to ensure reproducibility and replication, and accelerate translation; (iii) expanding cohort studies to collect exposure, clinical, and other information across the life course and examining multiple health-related endpoints; (iv) developing and validating reliable methods and technologies to quantify exposures and outcomes on a massive scale, and to assess concomitantly the role of multiple factors in complex diseases; (v) integrating big data science into the practice of epidemiology; (vi) expanding knowledge integration to drive research, policy, and practice; (vii) transforming training of 21stcentury epidemiologists to address interdisciplinary and translational research; and (viii) optimizing the use of resources and infrastructure for epidemiologic studies. These recommendations can transform cancer epidemiology and the field of epidemiology, in general, by enhancing transparency, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strategic applications of new technologies. They should lay a strong scientific foundation for accelerated translation of scientific discoveries into individual and population health benefits.

Gaps between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM disciplines and ask whether frameworks for 21stcentury skills and engineering education cover all of important STEM competencies. In this study, we identify important STEM competencies and evaluate the relevance of current frameworks applied in education using the standardized job-specific database operated and maintained by the US Department of Labor. Our analysis of the importance of 109 skills, types of knowledge and work activities, revealed 18 skills, seven categories of knowledge, and 27 work activities important for STEM workers. We investigate the perspectives of STEM and non-STEM job incumbents, comparing the importance of each skill, knowledge, and work activity for the two groups. We aimed to condense dimensions of the 52 key areas by categorizing them according to the Katz and Kahn (1978) framework and testing for inter-rater reliability. Our findings show frameworks for 21stcentury skills and engineering education do not encompass all important STEM competencies. Implications for STEM education programs are discussed, including how they can bridge gaps between education and important workplace competencies.

Digital pathology represents an electronic environment for performing pathologic analysis and managing the information associated with this activity. The technology to create and support digital pathology has largely developed over the last decade. The use of digital pathology tools is essential to adapt and lead in the rapidly changing environment of 21stcentury neuropathology. The utility of digital pathology has already been demonstrated by pathologists in several areas including consensus reviews, quality assurance (Q/A), tissue microarrays (TMAs), education and proficiency testing. These utilities notwithstanding, interface issues, storage and image formatting all present challenges to the integration of digital pathology into the neuropathology work environment. With continued technologic improvements, as well as the introduction of fluorescent side scanning and multispectral detection, future developments in digital pathology offer the promise of adding powerful analytic tools to the pathology work environment. The integration of digital pathology with biorepositories offers particular promise for neuropathologists engaged in tissue banking. The utilization of these tools will be essential for neuropathologists to continue as leaders in diagnostics, translational research and basic science in the 21stcentury. PMID:19290997

@@ Mankind has entered the 21stcentury of high speed development in science and economics. Owing to the alteration of disease modes in the new century, the greatly elevated quality of human life and the arrival of aged society, the modes of medicine have obviously changed from the treatment mode to the prevention mode, the medical thought emphasizes more the holistic approach of human body.

Yanji is the biggest China Korean inhabited city. Based on a newly finished research project, this paper discusses strategic problems about Yanji towards 21stcentury. The general point of the authors is that at the beginning of new century,Yanji will play a more important role in Tumen River Delta development, regional economy cooperation in Korea Peninsula as well as Northeast Asia, and it will develop to be an important central city in this area. This paper puts forwards Yanji City′s developing goal, urban nature, and urban size, probes its regional orientation, and further probes how to establish The Yanji Urban Economy Cooperation Zone. The authors think that Yanji should depend on its intellect resources and other characteristic resources. Industry development need to pay much attention to modern agriculture, tertiary industry (especially commerce, trade and tourism) and dominant industries, and high-tech industry must give a special care, in order to establish a light industrial structure.

CGMFC-21 provides high resolution local, regional, national, and global estimates of annual mangrove forest levels using continuous data from 2000 through to 2012 with the goal of driving mangrove research questions pertaining to biodiversity, climate change, food security, livelihoods, fisheries support, and conservation that have been hindered until now by a lack of suitable data. CGMFC-21 provides the required spatiotemporal resolutions to not only set REDD baseline measures globally in a systematic manner, but also to account for forest degradation as well as deforestation on an annual basis. Countries showing relatively high levels of 21stCentury mangrove loss include Myanmar, Guatemala, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Many nations that have reported mangrove deforestation in earlier periods such as Ecuador, Bangladesh and Nigeria, have stabilized their mangrove levels during this period. Indonesia remains by far the largest mangrove holding nation containing between 26.16% and 28.50% of the global m...

The projections of climate changes in China for the 21stcentury by about 40 climate scenarios and multi-model ensembles have been investigated in this research. All the models with the different scenarios project a warming of 1.2℃ to 9.2℃ in China by the end of 21stcentury. Most of the projections point show the increasing of precipitation in China for the 21stcentury.

Nuclear power stations committed today will be commissioned in the mid- to late-1990s and will operate for most of their lives in the 21stcentury. Utilities considering the nuclear option for new increments of capacity are, therefore, required to make judgements now on the competitiveness of nuclear plants well beyond the turn of the century. Reactors committed for mid-1990 startup could have a lifetime competitive cost advantage of 20% to 80% over coal-fired plants in most NEA areas studied except for some parts of North America where low cost coal is available. Nuclear plants would retain an economic advantage in most countries even if they were to be used for load-following with resultant lifetime capacity (load) factors as low as about 60% (or even lower in many countries). Uranium resources are sufficiently large that fuel supply should not constrain nuclear power development well into the 21stcentury, as long as uranium prices provide a market incentive for continued exploration and mine development. Uranium prices seem unlikely to rise to a level which would remove nuclear's advantage within the next several decades. There is apparently no technological reason why the ''back-end'' of the fuel cycle (spent fuel transportation, storage, reprocessing and disposal of high level waste) and decommissioning of reactors should constrain further deployment of nuclear power. While the costs of these activities appear high in absolute terms, they will be relatively low per unit of electricity generated. Thus, even though there remain uncertainties regarding these future costs, they should have little impact on electricity consumers. (author)

This article presents the author's response to "Reinventing Jewish Education for the 21stCentury" by Jonathan Woocher. The author agrees with Jonathan Woocher that American Jewish education in the 21stcentury requires change no less comprehensive than that initiated by Samson Benderly and his students around a century ago, and that this should…

each constitute parts of an intricately weaved and interrelated network of practices dealing with death, grief and memorialization. Design pioneering company IDEO'S recent failed attempt to 'redesign death' is an example of how delicate and difficult it is to work with material and symbolic 'death......The digital spheres of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Social Network Services (SNS) are influencing 21st. century death. Today the dying and the bereaved attend mourning and remembrance both online and offline, and combined, cemeteries, web memorials and social network sites...... design'. Urns, coffins, graves, cemeteries, memorials, monuments, websites and services, whether cut in stone or made of bits, are all influenced by the discourses of economics, power, technology and culture. Furthermore many end-users do not recognize the need or potential of a certain death service...

The address discusses the following issue - towards the 21stcentury, we are required more and more to create innovative technologies to solve problems about environment, energy, natural resources, materials, health care, food and others which are the great concern to human beings. For the radiation processing technology to survive, it will be required to provide answers to those problems. The use of radiation of polymer modification will remain as an important field of the radiation application. Some other promising polymer processing can be cited as those which will grow in near future; for environment technology - polymeric fibers grafted with ion exchange residues to remove toxic metals for cleaning industrial waste water; For health care technology - crosslinked polyvinylalcohol hydrogel for wound dressing (irradiation of hydrogel); For high performance materials technology - less toxic crosslinked natural rubber latex (irradiation of emulsion), abrasion resistant crosslinked PTFE (irradiation at high temperature)

This paper provides a personal view of the research strategies which will be necessary to develop the new generations of equipment and new concepts and processes which will be required by the coal industry into the 21stcentury. It is claimed that the economics of coal supply and availability will continue to ensure that coal retains a very significant role as long as it is not targeted by taxes, regulation or penalties which are specifically intended to take it out of contention. In the author opinion, the coal industry needs to show that coal can be produced safely and with acceptable environmental impacts for future land use. These issues of community concern impact on all coal mining companies, and the need is a common one to maintain industry wide collaborative support for research to provide the technological innovation which will be an essential part of their solutions

Gaps between Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM disciplines and ask whether frameworks for 21stcentury skills and engineering education cover all of important STEM competencies. In this study, we identify important STEM competencies and evaluate the relevance of current frameworks applied in education using the standardized job-specific database operated and maintained by the United States Department of Labor. Our analysis of the importance of 109 skills, types of knowledge and work activities, revealed 18 skills, seven categories of knowledge, and 27 work activities important for STEM workers. We investigate the perspectives of STEM and non-STEM job incumbents, comparing the importance of each skill, knowledge, and work...

Full Text Available In 1972, Edsger Dijkstra claimed that computers had only introduced the new problem of learning to use them effectively. This is especially true in 2015 with regard to powerful new educational technologies. This article describes the challenges that 21stcentury educational technologists are, and will be, addressing as they undertake the effective integration of new technologies into K-12 educational systems and learning environments. The expanding Internet, ever more powerful mobile devices, and other innovations make the task of designing effective formal and informal learning challenging, especially in light of the high rate of change in these new technologies. While these technologies introduce many benefits, they are also causing serious threats to system security and personal privacy. Furthermore, as these technologies continue to evolve, ethical issues such as equal access to resources become imperative. Educational technologists must expand their forward-thinking leadership and planning competencies so as to ensure effective use of new technologies.

Simulations of ozone evolution from 1960 until ~2100 from chemistry climate models (CCMs) that participated in CCMVal-2 are broadly consistent in that stratospheric ozone increases as chlorofluorcarbons decrease and the stratosphere cools (which affects the rate of temperature dependent loss processes), however, details of the projections vary significantly. Differences in the ozone response to specified changes in chlorine containing source gases dominate during the first half of the integrations. For example, from 1980 to 2000, chlorine change is by far the most important cause of ozone change, and the CCMs produce changes in the 60S-60N average column ozone that range between -3 DU and -17 DU. In the second half of the 21stcentury climate change is primarily responsible for ozone change. By 2080 the CCMs produce changes in the 60S-60N average upper stratospheric ozone column that range from 4 DU to 10 DU. The CCM range of differences is due to differences in both composition and upper stratospheric temperature. Ozone loss processes each have their own temperature sensitivity, and the net sensitivity of ozone to temperature change in each CCM depends on the relative importance of each loss process; this depends on the composition and temperature for the baseline atmosphere. In the lower stratosphere, climate change affects ozone evolution through changes in photochemical reaction rates due to stratospheric cooling and through circulation differences affecting transport of ozone and other trace gases. These are not separable using an approach such as multiple linear regression because changes in circulation and temperature have the same time dependence after accounting for contributions due to chlorine change. Recent attention has focused on similarity of the CCMs in that all predict a speed-up of the Brewer Dobson circulation. However, differences in the magnitude of the speed-up, differences in horizontal mixing and differences in the photochemical response to

If power beamed from space is to be become widely used on Earth in the first half of the 21Stcentury, several thus-far-persistent impediments must be obviated, including threshold effects and problematic aspects of cost, availability, reliability, hazards and environmental impacts. We sketch a generally-applicable route to doing so, noting key enabling technologies and practical features. Likely-essential features of any successful strategy include vigorous, systematic leveraging of all intrinsic features of space-derived power, e.g., addressing marginal, high-value-added markets for electric power in space- and time-agile manners to conveniently provide power-upon-demand, and incrementally ''wedging'' into ever-larger markets with ever more cost-efficient generations and scales of technology. We suggest that no prudent strategic plan will rely upon large-scale, long-term public subsidies--fiscal, regulatory, etc.--with their attendant ''sovereign risks'' and interminable delays, and that plan-essential governmental support likely will be limited to early feasibility demonstrations, provision of threshold technologies and a rational, competition-neutral licensing environment. If salient realities are uniformly respected and accessible technologies are intelligently leveraged, electricity derived from space-sourced power-beams may come into significant civilian use during the latter part of the first quarter of this century, and may become widely used by the half-century point.

Full Text Available The opportunities and challenges for the study and control of parasitic diseases in the 21stcentury are both exciting and daunting. Based on the contributions from this field over the last part of the 20th century, we should expect new biologic concepts will continue to come from this discipline to enrich the general area of biomedical research. The general nature of such a broad category of infections is difficult to distill, but they often depend on well-orchestrated, complex life cycles and they often involve chronic, relatively well-balanced host/parasite relationships. Such characteristics force biological systems to their limits, and this may be why studies of these diseases have made fundamental contributions to molecular biology, cell biology and immunology. However, if these findings are to continue apace, parasitologists must capitalize on the new findings being generated though genomics, bioinformatics, proteomics, and genetic manipulations of both host and parasite. Furthermore, they must do so based on sound biological insights and the use of hypothesis-driven studies of these complex systems. A major challenge over the next century will be to capitalize on these new findings and translate them into successful, sustainable strategies for control, elimination and eradication of the parasitic diseases that pose major public health threats to the physical and cognitive development and health of so many people worldwide.

Geoengineering has been proposed as a feasible way of mitigating anthropogenic climate change, especially increasing global temperatures in the 21stcentury. The two main geoengineering options are limiting incoming solar radiation, or modifying the carbon cycle. Here we examine the impact of five geoengineering approaches on sea level; SO2 aerosol injection into the stratosphere, mirrors in space, afforestation, biochar, and bioenergy with carbon sequestration. Sea evel responds mainly at ce...

A growing body of literature on effective leadership styles has emerged as 21stcentury leaders face higher student expectations, more demands on teachers and lack of support from the public. An examination of the effects of transactional and transformational leadership provides educators with indications as to the best practices with regard to transforming the direction of schools. Proponents of transformational leadership recommend this approach as the best fit for today's changing times. T...

Leading the 21stCentury Academic Library: Successful Strategies for Envisioning and Realizing Preferred Futures will explore the new roles and directions academic libraries are taking in the 21stcentury as a consequence of visionary leadership in exploring diverse futures.

In this article, we explore creativity alongside educational technology, as fundamental constructs of 21stcentury education. Creativity has become increasingly important, as one of the most important and noted skills for success in the 21stcentury. We offer a definition of creativity; and draw upon a systems model of creativity, to suggest…

The Common Core State Standards clearly define the skills students need for success in college and the 21stcentury workplace. The question is, how can you measure student mastery of skills like creativity, problem solving, and use of technology? Laura Greenstein demonstrates how teachers can teach and assess 21stcentury skills using authentic…

This article elaborates on the competencies, often referred to as 21stcentury competencies, that are needed to be able to live in and contribute to our current (and future) society. We begin by describing, analysing and reflecting on international frameworks describing 21stcentury competencies, giving special attention to digital literacy as one…

... Agricultural Research Service Notice of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture... Committee on Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture (AC21). DATES: The meeting dates are March 5-6, 2012..., 2012. The AC21 consists of members representing the biotechnology industry, the organic food...

The paper describes the characteristics of the intelligent manufacturing system and production mode in the21stcentury in the information age, therefore draws a conclusion that the intelligent manufacturing system adapts to agilemanufacture (AM for short) production mode in the 21stcentury.

Much has been written about the social and scientific problems that face the world in the 21stcentury, including climate change and economic inequality. In this context, the development of talented individuals who can tackle these problems is most important. In this article, the authors discuss the implications of 21st-century challenges for the…

This article elaborates on the competencies, often referred to as 21stcentury competencies, that are needed to be able to live in and contribute to our current (and future) society. We begin by describing, analysing and reflecting on international frameworks describing 21stcentury competencies, gi

Kinesiology faculty for the 21stcentury was one of the featured strands of the 2014 NAKHE Collaborative Congress: "STEPS into the future: Exploring opportunities and facing the challenges for the 21stcentury." Following a brief introduction delegates were assigned to discussion groups with conversations focused around six…

Full Text Available The 21stcentury shows an increase in the number of women occupying leadership positions. The challenge is: How do they lead in a context which is still male dominated? Often female leaders simply try to copy the male leadership style they are familiar with. But sometimes, in doing so, they lose their femininity and the organisation misses out on the specific opportunities of female leadership. One aim of this article is to discuss the opportunities and strengths of a female leadership style such as pro-social behaviour and a panorama view. We will also deal with the issue of how women approach power and the power bases women would typically use. One conclusion is that we need the benefits of both male and female leadership for the 21stcentury

Full Text Available This article analyzes the relationship between State and Nation in the recent events in Japan and Bolivia, cases in which the universally shared ideas about development and democracy are met with the common criteria for the majority of the countries in the world. This relationship is analyzed comparing the particularities of each context regarding the concepts mentioned. Japan, despite being considered as an economically developed country, is criticized for its lack of exercise of democratic, popular politics. That country, despite being in the 21stcentury, remains a constitutional monarchy. Thus, given the catastrophic episode from March, 2011, the destiny of the citizens was defined by the imperial family. Bolivia, for its part, since the beginning of this century has managed a national reconstruction that has re-founded the Constitution and, therefore, the nation and the State. However, this democratic reorganization now faces a number of dilemmas where the State is debating between democracy and authoritarianism, as well as between liberal development and development from a communal perspective.

The 21stcentury is also called the century of womenandprognoses rank women.higher profile (for example,in leading positions) among new development megatrends.The number of women is on the rise. Their influence gets stronger not only in economy and politics but also in culture, media, justice, charity, sport, education or science. The importance and the role of women may be examined also through the prism of conflicts of the current globalisation and multidimensional crises ...

Full Text Available Recent major political uprisings are indicating the extent to which social learning Web 2.0 technologies, can infl uence change in informal learning settings. Recognition and a discussion of the potential of that infl uence in formal learning settings have only just begun. This article describes a study of an international distance learning project in 2004, using a variety of Web 2.0 technologies, including video-based web conferencing, that sought to initiate and respond to this urgent need for dialogue in the research. Self-selected participants took part in a 5-week English as a foreign language (EFL program, a joint NATO sponsored Canadian and Romanian Ministry of Defense-supported initiative. Clear evidence of linguistic knowledge construction and of important changes to participants’ learner identities, indicates the power of these technologies to support the kind of learning that can lead to the development of global citizens and the skills they will increasingly require in the 21stcentury.

In preparation for Earth Science Week, The University of Texas at Austin, Striker Communications and Ursuline Academy of Dallas partnered on a GirlTalk event ("Energy, Climate and Water in the 21stCentury") to create a two-day (Fri-Sat), community science symposium and open house on critical issues surrounding energy, water and climate. On Friday, over 800 high school girls and 100 teachers from Ursuline participated in hands-on activities (led by faculty, researchers and graduate students from UT Austin and professionals from the surrounding Dallas community), films and discussions, plenary sessions and an expert panel discussion. An opening talk by Dr. Hilary Olson on "Energy, Water and Climate in the 21stCentury: Critical Issues for the Global Community" began the day. A series of hands-on activities, and science and technology films with discussion followed. Each girl had an individualized, modular schedule for the day, completing four of the over twenty modules offered. During lunch, Dr. Scott Tinker, Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, presented a compelling talk on "Time, Technology and Transition", and afterwards girls attended another round of hands-on activities in the afternoon. The day ended with a panel discussion where girls could submit questions to the various participants from the day's activities. The exciting experience of a full day of GirlTalk led many high school girls to volunteer for the middle school event on the following morning (Sat.), when 150 middle school girls and their mentors (parents, teachers) attended a community-wide public event to learn about the energy, water and climate nexus. "Breakfast with a Pro" was hosted by the various professionals. Girls and their mentors enjoyed breakfast and discussion about topics and careers in the earth sciences and engineering with presenters, followed by an informal discussion with a panel of professionals. Next, girls and their mentors were each given a pre-assigned individual

accelerate the development of new tools for the future. Simple improvements in tuberculosis control, such as expanding the use of under-utilized technologies, can have enormous impact. Fixed-dose combinations have existed for over 25 years, and could help ensure that more patients complete treatment; yet globally, only 15 percent of patients are using them. We also need new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, as well as innovations in tuberculosis control and case management. Better diagnostics are already available, and new drugs and vaccines are coming. But more commitment and resources are needed. Better prevention and control of tuberculosis is the surest way to stop drug resistance. To ensure that drug resistance does not pose a wider threat, we need to employ a number of equally important approaches. These include improved basic tuberculosis control, increased use of underutilized technologies such as fixed-dose combinations, and new technologies and health systems innovations. At the same time, we should expand access to M/XDR-TB treatment and diagnostics for those who already have drug resistant tuberculosis. Some of the most innovative solutions can come from the private sector and through partnerships. An untapped market of two billion people carries the tuberculosis bacterium. Since tuberculosis requires a comprehensive approach, companies should also explore opportunities to work together and pool complementary technologies to ensure new tools are used most effectively. Japan is poised to play a leading role in the discovery, development and delivery of tuberculosis solutions in the 21stcentury. PMID:19999594

Full Text Available The main objective of this study is to propose the conceptual framework for the integration of 21stcentury skills in biology education in Malaysia. An interdisciplinary approach for Biology, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (BTEM is suggested to imbibe 21stcentury skills into the existing Biology curriculum. Solving complex and interdisciplinary worldwide biology problems will require students to understand what connections exist across disciplines and how to make those connections. BTEM allows students to master biological knowledge and at the same time to be adroit in other sub disciplinary skills. The main teaching and learning strategies that apply in the BTEM subjects are problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning which require the coordination of both knowledge and skills simultaneously. This is intended to enhance the students’ abilities to construct their own knowledge through the relevant hands-on and minds-on activities. The essence of engineering is production of design for the inventive problem solving. Integrating advanced information communication technologies such as e-tools and World Wide Web resources are believed to be able to fulfil the learning style needs of the current ‘Net Generation’. Mathematics plays an important role providing computational tools for biology and engineering, especially in analysing data. The expected outcomes of BTEM implementation are the inculcation of 21stcentury skills digital literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, high productivity, spiritual and noble values in Malaysian students.

In mid-1990s, tighter oil supply and firmer and higher price will be projected due to the declining production in non-OPEC countries. The OPEC members have the oil production capacity of 30 million barrels a day, but last year, OPEC produced 17 million barrels a day. World oil demand was down about 600,000 barrels a day due primarily to the continued substitution with natural gas, coal and nuclear power. The conclusion of the UK coal strike also contributed to the drop of the demand for residual fuel oil. Economic growth was too sluggish to offset the substitution effect. The crude oil production from non-OPEC sources has increased, but low price will reverse the trend of non-OPEC production. Energy supply will be ample to meet the projected demand through the next decade. The annual growth rate of less than 2 % was forecast for the primary energy demand in non-communist world, assuming the economic growth of 3 % a year worldwide. The trend of the use of natural gas, coal and nuclear power is discussed. At the beginning of the 21stcentury, world energy will be supplied 42 % by oil, 18 % by natural gas, 24 % by coal and 8 % by nuclear power. (Kako, I.)

Full Text Available A series of calculations carried out independently by the Australian, Russian and American re- searchers have demonstrated that a crucial global polyfurcation is expected near the middle of the 21stcentury. This result is drawn by extrapolating into the future the logarithmic acceleration law, which involves the phase transitions in the evolution of biosphere and anthroposphere. The paper investigates the palliatives of the planetary civilization beyond the big evolutionary Singularity in the context of Mega-history and complexity theory worldviews. It gives the mathematical deduction a universal ground and besides, helps involve some recent discoveries in psychology and cultural anthropology to tracing the forecasting attractors and scenarios. The destiny of the Earth (as well as any other planetary civilization may conclusively depend on whether or not the intellectual ac- tor succeeds in developing his inner regulation to balance the potentially unlimited developments in technological power. Particularly, this includes overcoming the macro-group identities, religious and quasi-religious ideologies, which always suggest a friend-or-foe discrimination matrix.

The aim of this article is to bring forward and realise the size of cardiovascular diseases and the burden of its numbers that concern practising doctors in Lower Silesia, in Poland, Europe and the world. Every fourth patient knocking at the GP's door comes with a problem with the circulatory system. These diseases are the reason for every second in hospitalization or referral to a specialist. The most common diagnosis is not the common cold but arterial hypertension. Three of the most common diseases in patients over 65 years old are: hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, and atherosclerosis of the brain arteries. Poland belongs to the group of developed countries with an emerging economy, where degenerative diseases dominate, and cardiovascular diseases account for the biggest problems within the Health System. Nearly half of male deaths (46%) and over half of female deaths (56%) are the consequence of cardiovascular diseases. 80% of people around the world live in developing economies, where cardiovascular diseases cause 23% of all deaths. Every fifth person lives in a developed country and has a 50% chance of dying because of cardiovascular diseases. Will these diseases become "the number one killer" of the 21stcentury? 27% lost healthy life years are due to arterial hypertension, ischeamic heart disease, and congestive heart failure so their epidemiology is being regarded in this article. PMID:15518325

Full Text Available In the era of global industrialisation, the exploration of natural resources has served as a source of experimentation for science and advanced technologies, giving rise to the manufacturing of products with high aggregate value in the world market, such as biosurfactants. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic microbial molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition at liquid/liquid, liquid/gas or liquid/solid interfaces. Such characteristics allow these biomolecules to play a key role in emulsification, foam formation, detergency and dispersal, which are desirable qualities in different industries. Biosurfactant production is considered one of the key technologies for development in the 21stcentury. Besides exerting a strong positive impact on the main global problems, biosurfactant production has considerable importance to the implantation of sustainable industrial processes, such as the use of renewable resources and “green” products. Biodegradability and low toxicity have led to the intensification of scientific studies on a wide range of industrial applications for biosurfactants in the field of bioremediation as well as the petroleum, food processing, health, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. In this paper, we offer an extensive review regarding knowledge accumulated over the years and advances achieved in the incorporation of biomolecules in different industries.

In this study, we analyze the simulations of the Global Climate Models that are part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) over the South Asian summer monsoon region for the historic (1960-2005) and the 21stcentury projection (2006-2100) periods. We apply two evaluation matrices namely precipitation recycling ratio analysis and monsoon depressions tracking algorithm to investigate the accuracy of the simulated processes in the GCMs that control the observed spatial and temporal distribution of South Asian summer monsoon rainfall. We sub-select the GCMs for the future period evaluations based on their ability in the simulation of different moisture sources and the accuracy of the low pressure systems tracks that transport moisture over the South Asian land during summer monsoon season in the baseline period. Further, we use selected GCMs to understand the effect of increase in greenhouse forcing on the frequency and tracks of the low-pressure systems during summer monsoon season, and on the moisture sources. These analyses will improve our understanding of the ability of CMIP5 GCMs in the simulation of South Asian summer monsoon dynamics and provide important implications for the reliability of future climate projections over this region.

This study examined bullying and cyberbullying prevalence among 367 adolescents 10 to 18 years of age who were attending schools and community organizations in suburban and urban neighborhoods in the Midwest United States. The correlational design investigated adolescents' daily use of technology that could be used to cyberbully peers, such as cell phones, computers, email, and the Internet. Results showed that 30% of participants had been bullied during school, and 17% had been cyberbullied, with online social networking sites the most common media employed (68%). The majority of participants owned or had access to computers (92%), email accounts (88%), social networking accounts (e.g., Facebook or MySpace) (82%), and cell phones (79%). Daily technology use included an average of two hours on a computer and a median of 71 text messages per day. Logistic regression analysis revealed no significant differences in bullying or cyberbullying prevalence based on location (urban or suburban) or demographic characteristics. Given the substantial presence of cyberbullying and the increase in technology use among adolescents in the 21stcentury, nurses need knowledge of the phenomenon to plan assessments in clinical practice. Early identification and assessment of cyberbullying victims and perpetrators, and development and implementation of effective interventions are needed to reduce this form of bullying among adolescents. PMID:26201169

Since the original description of the health effects of inhaled occupational manganese (Mn) by Couper in 1837, an extensive literature details the clinical syndrome and pathophysiology of what was thought to be a rare condition. In the last decade, conventional wisdom regarding the clinicopathological effects of Mn has been challenged. Past exposures to Mn were an order of magnitude higher than modern exposures in developed countries; therefore, the clinical syndrome seen in the time of Couper is no longer typical of modern Mn exposed workers. Parkinsonism (rigidity, bradykinesia, rest tremor, and postural instability) is present in 15% of Mn-exposed workers in welding industries, and these parkinsonian signs are associated with reduced health status and quality of life. These parkinsonian signs also overlap considerably with the clinical findings seen in early stages of Parkinson disease (PD); although, molecular imaging suggests that Mn-exposed workers have dopaminergic dysfunction in a pattern unique from PD. Furthermore, geographic information system studies demonstrate that regions of the US with high industrial Mn emissions have an increased incidence of PD and increased PD associated mortality. This review will contrast historical, descriptive human studies in Mn-exposed subjects with more recent data and will suggest a research agenda for the 21stcentury. PMID:24148923

The 1960's-era National Committee for Fluid Mechanics Films produced 39 famous 16mm films - dated but still in use - with 3 million dollars of NSF funding. Here we examine the nature of new fluid mechanics films, goals, media changes, and practicality. Examples are given of new narrated videos produced to illustrate chapters of a basic fluids text and provide a ``glimpse through the laboratory window.'' Both experiments and CFD are featured, though the facilities needed for the former are declining. The fundamentally-visual nature of the topic is emphasized with no repetition of text or equations. We believe this visual nature of fluid mechanics is the key to its role in renewed efforts to bolster US science education. This is one - not the only - paradigm for new fluid mechanics films. While inflation makes such film production perhaps 6 times more expensive than in the 1960's, there are offsetting economies based on consumer video technology and digital desktop production. Nonetheless, funding new educational fluid mechanics videos in the 21stcentury remains a daunting prospect.

In the era of global industrialisation, the exploration of natural resources has served as a source of experimentation for science and advanced technologies, giving rise to the manufacturing of products with high aggregate value in the world market, such as biosurfactants. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic microbial molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition at liquid/liquid, liquid/gas or liquid/solid interfaces. Such characteristics allow these biomolecules to play a key role in emulsification, foam formation, detergency and dispersal, which are desirable qualities in different industries. Biosurfactant production is considered one of the key technologies for development in the 21stcentury. Besides exerting a strong positive impact on the main global problems, biosurfactant production has considerable importance to the implantation of sustainable industrial processes, such as the use of renewable resources and “green” products. Biodegradability and low toxicity have led to the intensification of scientific studies on a wide range of industrial applications for biosurfactants in the field of bioremediation as well as the petroleum, food processing, health, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. In this paper, we offer an extensive review regarding knowledge accumulated over the years and advances achieved in the incorporation of biomolecules in different industries. PMID:26999123

Full Text Available The paper examines young adult dystopian novels written in the first decade of the 21stcentury, as heirs to the tradition of the bildungsroman, and the great dystopias. The focus of this new genre has shifted from maintaining "the best of all worlds" – where the young person adjusts and fits into the existing world, to the shaping of the hero’s critical spirit which is supposed to result in the hero/heroine growing up, but also in changes in the world which they inhabit. Two other important characteristics of these novels are the critical relationship toward ancestors and tradition on the one hand, and on the other the positive assessment of non-rational decisions which are made impulsively and are based on emotions, which points to the abandonment of different aspects of the heritage of modernity (the traditions of rationalism and romanticism. Thus they set the stage for a new, different view of the world and the role which the individual is to fulfill by growing from a child into an adult in such a world.

In the era of global industrialisation, the exploration of natural resources has served as a source of experimentation for science and advanced technologies, giving rise to the manufacturing of products with high aggregate value in the world market, such as biosurfactants. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic microbial molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition at liquid/liquid, liquid/gas or liquid/solid interfaces. Such characteristics allow these biomolecules to play a key role in emulsification, foam formation, detergency and dispersal, which are desirable qualities in different industries. Biosurfactant production is considered one of the key technologies for development in the 21stcentury. Besides exerting a strong positive impact on the main global problems, biosurfactant production has considerable importance to the implantation of sustainable industrial processes, such as the use of renewable resources and "green" products. Biodegradability and low toxicity have led to the intensification of scientific studies on a wide range of industrial applications for biosurfactants in the field of bioremediation as well as the petroleum, food processing, health, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. In this paper, we offer an extensive review regarding knowledge accumulated over the years and advances achieved in the incorporation of biomolecules in different industries. PMID:26999123

Full Text Available Establishing a common strategic framework is a decisive factor in the Ukrainian-Polish relations in the current social and political context. The complexity of the partnership between the two states arise from their geographical location on the borderline between civilizations, the site of historical cataclysms. At the same time, national sovereignty of was always a high priority for both peoples. The recognition of Ukraine’s independence by Poland marked a new stage of rapprochement between Warsaw and Kyiv, the act being evidence of maturity of the Polish political elite. Poland made its best to promote the interest of Ukraine in the international political arena. The article suggests periodization in the history of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership. Ukrainian policy can be modelled on Poland’s experience of the transformation of society. Being a member of the European Union, Poland advocates the idea of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. Increased economic cooperation is one of the aspects of the Ukrainian-Polish partnership. Cooperation at regional level, between local government bodies is also important for the relations between the two states. Step by step, visa regulations are being liberalized, interpersonal contacts broadened. The beginning of the 21stcentury witnesses a change in political consciousness of Ukrainian and Polish people, who reconsider painful events from their past.

Full Text Available The form of the public health system in India is a three tiered pyramid-like structure consisting primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services. The content of India′s health system is mono-cultural and based on western bio-medicine. Authors discuss need for health sector reforms in the wake of the fact that despite huge investment, the public health system is not delivering. Today, 70% of the population pays out of pocket for even primary healthcare. Innovation is the need of the hour. The Indian government has recognized eight systems of healthcare viz., Allopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, Swa-rigpa, Unani, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, and Yoga. Allopathy receives 97% of the national health budget, and 3% is divided amongst the remaining seven systems. At present, skewed funding and poor integration denies the public of advantage of synergy and innovations arising out of the richness of India′s Medical Heritage. Health seeking behavior studies reveal that 40-70% of the population exercise pluralistic choices and seek health services for different needs, from different systems. For emergency and surgery, Allopathy is the first choice but for chronic and common ailments and for prevention and wellness help from the other seven systems is sought. Integrative healthcare appears to be the future framework for healthcare in the 21stcentury. A long-term strategy involving radical changes in medical education, research, clinical practice, public health and the legal and regulatory framework is needed, to innovate India′s public health system and make it both integrative and participatory. India can be a world leader in the new emerging field of "integrative healthcare" because we have over the last century or so assimilated and achieved a reasonable degree of competence in bio-medical and life sciences and we possess an incredibly rich and varied medical heritage of our own.

The form of the public health system in India is a three tiered pyramid-like structure consisting primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services. The content of India's health system is mono-cultural and based on western bio-medicine. Authors discuss need for health sector reforms in the wake of the fact that despite huge investment, the public health system is not delivering. Today, 70% of the population pays out of pocket for even primary healthcare. Innovation is the need of the hour. The Indian government has recognized eight systems of healthcare viz., Allopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, Swa-rigpa, Unani, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, and Yoga. Allopathy receives 97% of the national health budget, and 3% is divided amongst the remaining seven systems. At present, skewed funding and poor integration denies the public of advantage of synergy and innovations arising out of the richness of India's Medical Heritage. Health seeking behavior studies reveal that 40-70% of the population exercise pluralistic choices and seek health services for different needs, from different systems. For emergency and surgery, Allopathy is the first choice but for chronic and common ailments and for prevention and wellness help from the other seven systems is sought. Integrative healthcare appears to be the future framework for healthcare in the 21(st) century. A long-term strategy involving radical changes in medical education, research, clinical practice, public health and the legal and regulatory framework is needed, to innovate India's public health system and make it both integrative and participatory. India can be a world leader in the new emerging field of "integrative healthcare" because we have over the last century or so assimilated and achieved a reasonable degree of competence in bio-medical and life sciences and we possess an incredibly rich and varied medical heritage of our own. PMID:25878456

There is a substantial and growing interest in immersive virtual spaces as contexts for 21stcentury skills like problem solving, communication, and collaboration. However, little consideration has been given to the ways in which users become proficient in these environments or what types of target behaviors are associated with 21st century…

Full Text Available The scientific problems posed by the Earth's fluid envelope, and its atmosphere, oceans, and the land surface that interacts with them are central to major socio-economic and political concerns as we move into the 21stcentury. It is natural, therefore, that a certain impatience should prevail in attempting to solve these problems. The point of this review paper is that one should proceed with all diligence, but not excessive haste: "festina lente," as the Romans said two thousand years ago, i.e. "hurry in a measured way." The paper traces the necessary progress through the solutions to the ten problems: 1. What is the coarse-grained structure of low-frequency atmospheric variability, and what is the connection between its episodic and oscillatory description? 2. What can we predict beyond one week, for how long, and by what methods? 3. What are the respective roles of intrinsic ocean variability, coupled ocean-atmosphere modes, and atmospheric forcing in seasonal-to-interannual variability? 4. What are the implications of the answer to the previous problem for climate prediction on this time scale? 5. How does the oceans' thermohaline circulation change on interdecadal and longer time scales, and what is the role of the atmosphere and sea ice in such changes? 6. What is the role of chemical cycles and biological changes in affecting climate on slow time scales, and how are they affected, in turn, by climate variations? 7. Does the answer to the question above give us some trigger points for climate control? 8. What can we learn about these problems from the atmospheres and oceans of other planets and their satellites? 9. Given the answer to the questions so far, what is the role of humans in modifying the climate? 10. Can we achieve enlightened climate control of our planet by the end of the century? A unified framework is proposed to deal with these problems in succession, from the shortest to the longest timescale, i.e. from weeks to

Full Text Available Rheumatoid arthritis (RA, juvenile arthritis, spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, and other systemic connective tissue diseases, are the most severe chronic immunoinflammatory rheumatic diseases (IIRDs that affect as high as 10% of the population. Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of IIRDs in the 21stcentury. The current Treat to Target (T2T strategy for RA is to achieve remission as soon as possible. The main treatment goal is to improve quality of life, by controlling the symptoms of the disease, by preventing joint destruction and dysfunction, and by maintaining social possibilities. The most important way to achieve this goal is to inhibit inflammation and to evaluate the efficiency of treatment, by using the standardized activity indices and by choosing the appropriate treatment option. The widespread use of biological agents in combination with standard disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs could substantially enhance therapeutic effectiveness. A new class of medicaments (chemically synthesized small molecular weight agents to treat RA has appeared. The point of their application is tyrosine kinases, primarily Janus kinase (JAK. The new era in the treatment of SLE and other IIRDs is associated with the design of the new class of drugs Р BLyS inhibitors. In the coming years, the main lines of researches by Russian rheumatologists will be to elaborate a strategy to prevent IIRDs; to introduce innovative methods for their early diagnosis and treatment (biological agents, JAK inhibitors, and other cell signaling molecules and for the prediction of the outcomes of the most severe forms of IIRD; to realize the concept of personified medicine (to investigate the prognostic biomarkers of the efficiency and safety of targeted therapy, to reduce the risk of infectious complications, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporotic fractures, and other comorbidities.

Full Text Available Rheumatoid arthritis (RA, juvenile arthritis, spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, and other systemic connective tissue diseases, are the most severe chronic immunoinflammatory rheumatic diseases (IIRDs that affect as high as 10% of the population. Substantial progress has been made in the treatment of IIRDs in the 21stcentury. The current Treat to Target (T2T strategy for RA is to achieve remission as soon as possible. The main treatment goal is to improve quality of life, by controlling the symptoms of the disease, by preventing joint destruction and dysfunction, and by maintaining social possibilities. The most important way to achieve this goal is to inhibit inflammation and to evaluate the efficiency of treatment, by using the standardized activity indices and by choosing the appropriate treatment option. The widespread use of biological agents in combination with standard disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs could substantially enhance therapeutic effectiveness. A new class of medicaments (chemically synthesized small molecular weight agents to treat RA has appeared. The point of their application is tyrosine kinases, primarily Janus kinase (JAK. The new era in the treatment of SLE and other IIRDs is associated with the design of the new class of drugs Р BLyS inhibitors. In the coming years, the main lines of researches by Russian rheumatologists will be to elaborate a strategy to prevent IIRDs; to introduce innovative methods for their early diagnosis and treatment (biological agents, JAK inhibitors, and other cell signaling molecules and for the prediction of the outcomes of the most severe forms of IIRD; to realize the concept of personified medicine (to investigate the prognostic biomarkers of the efficiency and safety of targeted therapy, to reduce the risk of infectious complications, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporotic fractures, and other comorbidities.

Public support for nuclear energy in the next millennium will depend on the extent to which two essential qualities are exercised now by industry and governments. These qualities are leadership and vision. However, a fear of leadership in supporting nuclear energy afflicts government officials and legislators and many industry stakeholders as well. The paper examines a root cause of this fear of leadership, namely the use of an incomplete and outdated model of public opinion on nuclear energy. The old model leads to the conclusion that expressing support for nuclear energy is politically risky. Yet a new, more complete, model of public opinion on nuclear energy is readily available from the social science research. By underestimating various types of support that exist, the old model causes stakeholders in the industry to believe that their position is unpopular. This may make them reluctant to lead the way in speaking out. Thus, politicians and government officials hear most from a small opposition. Leadership in speaking out and advocating solutions is not sufficient for assuring public support for nuclear energy in the 21stcentury. Under the umbrella of sustainable development, opinion leaders worldwide are assessing energy sources on the basis of ethical and environmental considerations, not just economics. Leaders in the nuclear industry for years have made a strong case for nuclear energy as a moral imperative, based on the absence of emissions and the preservation of natural resources. This case can and must be developed through active participation in world movements, by listening to all views, and by helping to define what is sustainable and just for future generations. (author)

An international project to make the world's most productive ground-based telescope 10 times more capable has reached its halfway mark and is on schedule to provide astronomers with an extremely powerful new tool for exploring the Universe. The National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope now has half of its giant, 230-ton dish antennas converted to use new, state-of-the-art digital electronics to replace analog equipment that has served since the facility's construction during the 1970s. VLA and Radio Galaxy VLA Antennas Getting Modern Electronics To Meet New Scientific Challenges CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF Click on image for more information, higher-resolution files "We're taking a facility that has made landmark discoveries in astronomy for three decades and making it 10 times more powerful, at a cost that's a fraction of its total value, by replacing outdated technology with modern equipment," said Mark McKinnon, project manager for the Expanded VLA (EVLA). Rick Perley, EVLA project scientist, added: "When completed in 2012, the EVLA will be 10 times more sensitive, cover more frequencies, and provide far greater analysis capabilities than the current VLA. In addition, it will be much simpler to use, making its power available to a wider range of scientists." The EVLA will give scientists new power and flexibility to meet the numerous challenges of 21st-Century astrophysics. The increased sensitivity will reveal the earliest epochs of galaxy formation, back to within a billion years of the Big Bang, or 93 percent of the look-back time to the beginning of the Universe. It will have the resolution to peer deep into the dustiest star-forming clouds, imaging protoplanetary disks around young stars on scales approaching that of the formation of terrestrial planets. The EVLA will provide unique capabilities to study magnetic fields in the Universe, to image regions near massive black holes, and to systematically track changes in transient objects

Understanding these dynamics informs 21stcentury innovation strategies that government and business leaders rely upon to address modern technological, social, environmental, and demographic realities. This Research Highlight previews JISEA's continuing work on innovation strategy.

21stCentury Truck Partnership will support the development and implementation of technologies that will cut fuel use and emissions and enhance safety, affordability, and performance of trucks and buses.

" Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21stCentury describes this important set of key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher ...

The routine jobs of yesterday are being replaced by technology and/or shipped off-shore. In their place, job categories that require knowledge management, abstract reasoning, and personal services seem to be growing. The modern workplace requires workers to have broad cognitive and affective skills. Often referred to as "21st century…

This thesis interrogates representations of gender and subjectivity within 21stcentury American science fiction television. It recognises a recent convergence of generic concerns, the shifting contexts of television, and the cultural context of 21stcentury America. Identifying a recent shift in how American science fiction television of this era has engaged with issues of gender and subjectivity, I offer an exploration of this trend via four key texts: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicle...

Contents: Supply structures in the 21stcentury; security of energy supply in Europe - The European Commission's Green Paper; the U.S. nuclear future; DOE initiatives to advance nuclear energy in the United States; supply reliability - contribution of renewable energy sources; role of brown coal in the futural energy mixing; gas supply for the 21stcentury; the contribution of nuclear power on supply reliability in Europe and a new power plant for Finland. (GL)

Full Text Available Digital systems and digital technologies are globally investigated for their potential to transform learning and teaching towards offering unique learning experiences to the 21stcentury learners. This Special Issue on Digital Systems supporting Cognition and Exploratory Learning in 21stCentury aims to contribute to the dialogue between the educational technology and educational psychology research community and the educational practitioners on current issues towards large scale take-up of educational technology.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities of industrialization and development in the 21stcentury. With an ongoing global financial and economic crisis with only a tepid recovery at the time of this writing(August 2013) as well as the still unfolding ecological crisis, the 21stcentury presents an even greater challenge for industrialization in the developing world than the post-WWII period. The changed global economic and ecological environment will shape the emergence ...

The evolution of damage to building materials has been estimated for the 21stcentury, with a particular focus on aluminum, zinc, copper, plastic, paint, and rubber in urban areas. We set idealized air pollution and climates to represent London and Prague across the period 1950–2100. Environmental parameters were used to estimate future recession, corrosion, and loss of properties through published damage or dose-response functions. The 21stcentury seems to provide a less aggressive environm...

... Agricultural Research Service Request for Nominations to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st...: Notice of request for nominations to the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture... the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture (AC21). DATES:...

The ocean is a substantial source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere, but little is known on how this flux might change in the future. Here, we investigate the potential evolution of marine N2O emissions in the 21stcentury in response to anthropogenic climate change using the global ocean biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES. We implemented two different parameterizations of N2O production, which differ primarily at low oxygen (O2) conditions. When forced with output from a climate model simulation run under the business-as-usual high CO2 concentration scenario (RCP8.5), our simulations suggest a decrease of 4 to 12% in N2O emissions from 2005 to 2100, i.e., a reduction from 4.03/3.71 to 3.54/3.56 Tg N yr-1 depending on the parameterization. The emissions decrease strongly in the western basins of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, while they tend to increase above the Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs), i.e., in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and in the northern Indian Ocean. The reduction in N2O emissions is caused on the one hand by weakened nitrification as a consequence of reduced primary and export production, and on the other hand by stronger vertical stratification, which reduces the transport of N2O from the ocean interior to the ocean surface. The higher emissions over the OMZ are linked to an expansion of these zones under global warming, which leads to increased N2O production associated primarily with denitrification. From the perspective of a global climate system, the averaged feedback strength associated with the projected decrease in oceanic N2O emissions amounts to around -0.009 W m-2 K-1, which is comparable to the potential increase from terrestrial N2O sources. However, the assesment for a compensation between the terrestrial and marine feedbacks calls for an improved representation of N2O production terms in fully coupled next generation of Earth System Models.

Full Text Available The ocean is a substantial source of nitrous oxide (N2O to the atmosphere, but little is known on how this flux might change in the future. Here, we investigate the potential evolution of marine N2O emissions in the 21stcentury in response to anthropogenic climate change using the global ocean biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES. We implemented two different parameterizations of N2O production, which differ primarily at low oxygen (O2 conditions. When forced with output from a climate model simulation run under the business-as-usual high CO2 concentration scenario (RCP8.5, our simulations suggest a decrease of 4 to 12% in N2O emissions from 2005 to 2100, i.e., a reduction from 4.03/3.71 to 3.54/3.56 Tg N yr−1 depending on the parameterization. The emissions decrease strongly in the western basins of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, while they tend to increase above the Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs, i.e., in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and in the northern Indian Ocean. The reduction in N2O emissions is caused on the one hand by weakened nitrification as a consequence of reduced primary and export production, and on the other hand by stronger vertical stratification, which reduces the transport of N2O from the ocean interior to the ocean surface. The higher emissions over the OMZ are linked to an expansion of these zones under global warming, which leads to increased N2O production associated primarily with denitrification. From the perspective of a global climate system, the averaged feedback strength associated with the projected decrease in oceanic N2O emissions amounts to around −0.009 W m−2 K−1, which is comparable to the potential increase from terrestrial N2O sources. However, the assesment for a compensation between the terrestrial and marine feedbacks calls for an improved representation of N2O production terms in fully coupled next generation of Earth System Models.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci are serious health threats due in part to their ability to persist in rugged environments and their propensity to acquire antibiotic resistance determinants. Enterococci have now established a home in our hospitals and possess mechanisms to defeat most currently available antimicrobials. This article reviews the history of the struggle with this pathogen, what is known about the traits associated with its rise in the modern medical environment, and the current understanding of therapeutic approaches in severe infections caused by these microorganisms. As the 21stcentury progresses, vancomycin-resistant enterococci continue to pose a daunting clinical challenge. PMID:27208766

With the advances in e-Sciences and the growing complexity of scientific analyses, more and more scientists and researchers are relying on workflow systems for process coordination, derivation automation, provenance tracking, and bookkeeping. While workflow systems have been in use for decades, it is unclear whether scientific workflows can or even should build on existing workflow technologies, or they require fundamentally new approaches. In this paper, we analyze the status and challenges of scientific workflows, investigate both existing technologies and emerging languages, platforms and systems, and identify the key challenges that must be addressed by workflow systems for e-science in the 21stcentury.

The idea of artistic research is a hot topic today, especially in our moment of the information economy and intellectual speculation. The problem is that the word research is bound to specific scientific and reductionist connotations that are connected to its specific methodologies which are at odds with the way art is made. In the lecture entitled “Trans-thinking: Artistic Research in the 21st Century” Neidich will use five examples of his own performative art production created in the four ...

The evolution of stratospheric ozone from 1960 to 2100 is examined in simulations from 14 chemistry-climate models, driven by prescribed levels of halogens and greenhouse gases. There is general agreement among the models that total column ozone reached a minimum around year 2000 at all latitudes, projected to be followed by an increase over the first half of the 21stcentury. In the second half of the 21stcentury, ozone is projected to continue increasing, level off, or even decrease depending on the latitude. Separation into partial columns above and below 20 hPa reveals that these latitudinal differences are almost completely caused by differences in the model projections of ozone in the lower stratosphere. At all latitudes, upper stratospheric ozone increases throughout the 21stcentury and is projected to return to 1960 levels well before the end of the century, although there is a spread among models in the dates that ozone returns to specific historical values. We find decreasing halogens and declining upper atmospheric temperatures, driven by increasing greenhouse gases, contribute almost equally to increases in upper stratospheric ozone. In the tropical lower stratosphere, an increase in upwelling causes a steady decrease in ozone through the 21stcentury, and total column ozone does not return to 1960 levels in most of the models. In contrast, lower stratospheric and total column ozone in middle and high latitudes increases during the 21stcentury, returning to 1960 levels well before the end of the century in most models.

The warm-temperate regions of the globe characterized by dry summers and wet winters (Mediterranean climate; MED) are especially vulnerable to climate change. The potential impact on water resources, ecosystems and human livelihood requires a detailed picture of the future changes in this unique climate zone. Here we apply a probabilistic approach to quantitatively address how and why the geographic distribution of MED will change based on the latest-available climate projections for the 21stcentury. Our analysis provides, for the first time, a robust assessment of significant northward and eastward future expansions of MED over both the Euro-Mediterranean and western North America. Concurrently, we show a significant 21stcentury replacement of the equatorward MED margins by the arid climate type. Moreover, future winters will become wetter and summers drier in both the old and newly established MED zones. Should these projections be realized, living conditions in some of the most densely populated regions in the world will be seriously jeopardized.

This paper tries to project the prospects of the role of nuclear energy in Korea in the 21stcentury. The current status of energy situations and the future prospect of nuclear energy is reviewed, and the potential of its better production and more extensive utilization is investigated. The current government policy as well as the role of nuclear industries is reviewed and a systematic approach is suggested to materialize this anticipation. Through an evaluation of the current status of domestic and foreign technologies, the general outlook of advanced nuclear energy concepts is the future is presented by identifying underdeveloped areas and suggesting a scheme of technology development. However, the present study, by nature is limited to present a general vision of the role of nuclear energy in 2000's, which should be followed by a series of detailed studies in each respective field for implementation. As Korea opens new era of mature nuclear technology, the anticipation of effective, economic, and wide production and utilization of nuclear energy in the 21stcentury is expected

The name "21stCentury Laboratory" is an emerging concept of how NASA (and the world) will conduct research in the very near future. Our approach is to carefully plan for significant technological changes in products, organization, and society. The NASA mission can be the beneficiary of these changes, provided the Agency prepares for the role of 21stCentury laboratories in research and technology development and its deployment in this new age. It has been clear for some time now that the technology revolutions, technology "mega-trends" that we are in the midst of now, all have a common element centered around advanced computational modeling of small scale physics. Whether it is nano technology, bio technology or advanced computational technology, all of these megatrends are converging on science at the very small scale where it is profoundly important to consider the quantum effects at play with physics at that scale. Whether it is the bio-technology creation of "nanites" designed to mimic our immune system or the creation of nanoscale infotechnology devices, allowing an order of magnitude increase in computational capability, all involve quantum physics that serves as the heart of these revolutionary changes.

The recent evolution of continental runoff is still an open question. A related and controversial question is the attribution of this change and its consequences on our predictions of the behavior of future runoff. Here, the Land Surface Model Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems is used to perform a set of transient simulations of the runoff from 1900 to 2100. We first show that the model's simulated runoff increases for the 20th century from a global point of view as well as its geographical pattern changes are close to the observations made in this paper. Moreover this trend is simulated to increase further during the 21stcentury under the SRES A2 scenario. We have designed a set of simulations to test the impact on global runoff evolution of three factors: climate, stomatal conductance, and vegetation growth, all sensitive to CO2 increase. A complete factor-separation analysis of the influence of these three factors and of their interactions shows that climate change largely drives the 20th and 21stcentury runoff increase. The other two factors (stomatal conductance and vegetation growth) play a minor role in the 20th century runoff trend but we show that these contributions increase for the 21stcentury simulations. Although the interactions between the factors also plays a negligible role in the 20th century global runoff increase, our results show that they become significant during the 21stcentury, usually reducing the direct effect of each factor. However, our study does not reveal any important negative feedback to counteract the effect of climate warming on the hydrological cycle.

This paper presents a study of strategies on the construction of China's scientific and caltural capacities for security-oriented disaster reduction from a cross-disciplinary perspective and based on an analysis of the causes of disasters and accidents in China in the 20th century and a prediction of the disaster situation in the 21stcentury.

Full Text Available In spite of becoming more humane in its approach with improvements in understanding of mental illnesses over last century, psychiatry still has a long way to go. At this point in time, on one hand the world faces issues like terrorism, wars and global warming; while on the other it is witnessing economic and gender empowerment like never before. With technology providing us with immense opportunities to advance care for the mentally ill, we are closer than ever to finding the holy-grail of psychiatry, and overcoming daunting challenges.

Teaching and learning in the 21stcentury aim to produce students proficient in content knowledge, specific abilities, literacy, numeracy, and technology uses. From these 21stcentury skills, soft skills were delineated from these learning outcomes; and defined as intra- and interpersonal skills vital for personal development, social participation, and workplace success. This study has two goals: to determine the perceived extent of integration of 21stcentury-based soft skills in the cogniti...

The evolution of damage to building materials has been estimated for the 21stcentury, with a particular focus on aluminum, zinc, copper, plastic, paint, and rubber in urban areas. We set idealized air pollution and climates to represent London and Prague across the period 1950-2100. Environmental parameters were used to estimate future recession, corrosion, and loss of properties through published damage or dose-response functions. The 21stcentury seems to provide a less aggressive environment for stone and metals than recent times. Improvements in air quality are the most relevant drivers for this amelioration. Changes in climate predicted for the 21stcentury do not alter this picture. On the other hand, polymeric materials, plastic, paint, and rubber might show slightly increased rates of degradation, to some extent the result of enhanced oxidant concentrations, but also the possibility of contributions from more solar radiation. PMID:20098955

Full Text Available The evolution of damage to building materials has been estimated for the 21stcentury, with a particular focus on aluminum, zinc, copper, plastic, paint, and rubber in urban areas. We set idealized air pollution and climates to represent London and Prague across the period 1950–2100. Environmental parameters were used to estimate future recession, corrosion, and loss of properties through published damage or dose-response functions. The 21stcentury seems to provide a less aggressive environment for stone and metals than recent times. Improvements in air quality are the most relevant drivers for this amelioration. Changes in climate predicted for the 21stcentury do not alter this picture. On the other hand, polymeric materials, plastic, paint, and rubber might show slightly increased rates of degradation, to some extent the result of enhanced oxidant concentrations, but also the possibility of contributions from more solar radiation.

Through the ages each culture and civilization has expressed its values and world view in the form of monuments derived from its most advanced and valued technologies. From pyramids to cathedrals, skyscrapers and moon rockets, our technology has enabled us to leave our mark on the landscape and in the minds of our people. In the 21stcentury, the compelling technology will be that of the micro-world, enabling the fabrication of structures with features smaller than the wavelengths of light. Such structures will allow use to monitor and control electrical, chemical, and optical phenomena in ways never before imagined. As in the past we will continue to create monuments, but the technological monuments of the 21stcentury will likely be viewed through a microscope. This report provides a discussion of microtechnology in the 21stcentury.

Full Text Available One of the five primary objectives of the European Union within the framework of Europe 2020 is to increase the proportion of the tertiary educated population. The research task titled “The motivation of the student in the 21st century” is intended to address the factors that have both an impact on the decision of students to pursue higher studies and affect the choice of a specific field of study and a preferred form of study. The stimulus to the exploration was sparked by the mentioned EU initiative, interesting statistical data, the growing number of students studying in the external form compared to the daily option, and an increase of students from abroad. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the causes of these trends. Motivation of students is not researched in a systematic way in Slovakia, even though it is an important factor in a student’s decisionmaking process to study. Information was obtained by a questionnaire distributed to 105 students, evaluated using SPSS software and application of descriptive statistics.

Full Text Available Climate change very likely impacts future hydrological drought characteristics across the world. Here, we quantify the impact of climate change on future low flows and associated hydrological drought characteristics on a global scale using an alternative drought identification approach that considers adaptation to future changes in hydrological regime. The global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB was used to simulate daily discharge at 0.5° globally for 1971–2099. The model was forced with CMIP5 climate projections taken from five GCMs and four emission scenarios (RCPs, from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Drought events occur when discharge is below a threshold. The conventional variable threshold (VTM was calculated by deriving the threshold from the period 1971–2000. The transient variable threshold (VTMt is a non-stationary approach, where the threshold is based on the discharge values of the previous 30 years implying the threshold to vary every year during the 21stcentury. The VTMt adjusts to gradual changes in the hydrological regime as response to climate change. Results show a significant negative trend in the low flow regime over the 21stcentury for large parts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean. In 40–52% of the world reduced low flows are projected, while increased low flows are found in the snow dominated climates. In 27% of the global area both the drought duration and the deficit volume are expected to increase when applying the VTMt. However, this area will significantly increase to 62% when the VTM is applied. The mean global area in drought, with the VTMt, remains rather constant (11.7 to 13.4%, compared to the substantial increase when the VTM is applied (11.7 to 20%. The study illustrates that an alternative drought identification that considers adaptation to an altered hydrological regime, has a substantial influence on future hydrological drought characteristics.

Full Text Available Climate change very likely impacts future hydrological drought characteristics across the world. Here, we quantify the impact of climate change on future low flows and associated hydrological drought characteristics on a global scale using an alternative drought identification approach that considers adaptation to future changes in hydrological regime. The global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB was used to simulate daily discharge at 0.5° globally for 1971–2099. The model was forced with CMIP5 climate projections taken from five global circulation models (GCMs and four emission scenarios (representative concentration pathways, RCPs, from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Drought events occur when discharge is below a threshold. The conventional variable threshold (VTM was calculated by deriving the threshold from the period 1971–2000. The transient variable threshold (VTMt is a non-stationary approach, where the threshold is based on the discharge values of the previous 30 years implying the threshold to vary every year during the 21stcentury. The VTMt adjusts to gradual changes in the hydrological regime as response to climate change. Results show a significant negative trend in the low flow regime over the 21stcentury for large parts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean. In 40–52% of the world reduced low flows are projected, while increased low flows are found in the snow-dominated climates. In 27% of the global area both the drought duration and the deficit volume are expected to increase when applying the VTMt. However, this area will significantly increase to 62% when the VTM is applied. The mean global area in drought, with the VTMt, remains rather constant (11.7 to 13.4%, compared to the substantial increase when the VTM is applied (11.7 to 20%. The study illustrates that an alternative drought identification that considers adaptation to an altered hydrological regime has a

The U.S. work force is changing. Professional and related occupations and service occupations will be the fastest-growing sectors for the foreseeable future. Both demand strong communication skills for sharing complex ideas across diverse communities. In addition, the 21st-century economy will require its members to think creatively and critically…

Learning is interwoven in daily life and so it can be take place at anytime and anywhere by using mobile device. In the 21stcentury, mobile devices have become ubiquitous, affordable and accessible for the teenagers. The teenagers have the opportunity to perform the learning activities by using the mobile devices. However, what are they used…

Objective: The authors describe curricular modifications created in response to the changing culture of medical education, health care systems, academic medicine, and generational differences. The authors propose a model child psychiatry inpatient curriculum that is sustainable within a community teaching hospital in the 21stcentury. Methods: The…

In November 2009 the In Vitro Testing Industrial Platform (IVTIP) organized a meeting entitled '. Toxicology in the 21stcentury - working our way towards a visionary reality'. Participating delegates included scientists, key opinion leaders, developers and users of 3Rs-related tests and testing str

Race to the Future is an exciting and dynamic activity modeled after the reality television show "The Amazing Race." It exemplifies how 21stcentury skills can be incorporated into core subject instruction and at the same time positively enhance student engagement. In this activity, students work quickly and cooperatively with their teammates and…

As the world enters the 21stcentury, the access to information and freedom of speech provided by the Internet and other digital technologies have revolutionized the nature of censorship challenges and opened an entirely new realm of legal and social ramifications for censorship in United States schools. In the midst of this digital revolution,…

Interconnections between workplace and organizational learning can highlight the ongoing changes taking place that prestage the need for learning cities and regions. The diverse institutions that comprise cities and regions can function as organizational learning mechanisms in the 21stcentury. Learning cities themselves can also be conceptualized…

Training programs will continue to change to meet the needs of consumers of school psychological services in the 21stcentury. Provides information about the factors influencing the preparation of school psychologists whose roles and functions must change to meet these needs. Emphasis is on the overall context of training and the anticipated…

The goals of this article are to appraise second language acquisition's (SLA) disciplinary progress over the last 15 years and to reflect on transdisciplinary relevance as the field has completed 40 years of existence and moves forward into the 21stcentury. I first identify four trends that demonstrate vibrant disciplinary progress in SLA. I then…

Managing agricultural nutrients to provide a safe and secure food supply while protecting the environment remains one of the great challenges for the 21stcentury. The fourth International Nutrient Management Symposium (INMS), held in 2011 at the University of Delaware, addressed these issues via pr

As libraries adjust to the needs of the 21stcentury, there needs to be a different way of thinking in regards to its design. School libraries have traditionally been designed as large rooms for the storage of materials for research and pleasure reading. As more and more districts focus their attention on digital acquisitions, the need for storage…

When it comes to public-sector pensions, writes lead author Michael B. Lafferty in this report, "A major public-policy (and public-finance) problem has been defined and measured, debated and deliberated, but not yet solved. Except where it has been." As recounted in "Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21stCentury", these…

This paper investigates the use of mass media in distance education in Nigeria in order to provide suggestions for its effective use during the 21stcentury. Distance education programmes, especially those of the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos are examined. These two institutions made bold and commendable efforts. However, while print media…

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, Executive Office of the President — At the dawn of the 21stcentury, the U.S. is enjoying an era of unprecedented possibilities and prosperity built on dramatic advances in science and technology....

This paper takes a feminist perspective on the UK literature on mass higher education in the 21stcentury, building on US critiques about marketization, neo-liberalism and "academic capitalism". Concepts of equality and diversity have been transformed by neo-liberalism and how these changes have constrained democratic contributions to UK higher…

Author Jing Lin contends that there is a great need for educators to reconceptualize education in the 21stcentury. Here, she discusses the danger of global wars, environmental breakdown, moral vacuum and nihilism in society, and the problems in current debates on school reform. This book calls for a school that facilitates the formation of a…

This dissertation is comprised of three independently conducted studies, linked by investigation into the development of thinking skills deemed necessary for the 21stCentury. While educators and policy makers advocate teaching students creative and critical thinking skills to address an increasingly global and complex world, they simultaneously…

...; ] DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Research Service Renewal of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology... Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture (AC21) for a 2- year period. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... Committee Purpose: USDA supports the responsible development and application of biotechnology within...

Where do school librarians go to find out the latest on how the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system is being used (and will be used) in the 21st-century virtual-knowledge world? The answer is two great websites containing: (1) the most current information on both Dewey and linked data at ; (2) Dewey here-and-now…

This study investigated the teachers' level of awareness of 21stcentury occupational roles in Rivers state secondary schools. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The population of study comprised of 247 public secondary schools and 57 private secondary schools in Port Harcourt metropolis of Rivers state which gave a…

Mark Rein•Hagen’s role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, set in the World of Darkness shared universe, is foundational to the 21stCentury vampire. We aim to, through the cultural analysis of how ideas have been transferred from this role-playing game to other media, clearly demonstrate Mark...

"Reclaiming the American Dream" is the cornerstone of American Association of Community Colleges's (AACC) 21st-Century Initiative, launched in 2011 with the goal of outfitting an additional 5 million students with degrees, certificates, or other credentials by 2020. In Phase 1 of the initiative, featured was a nationwide "listening…

According to (P21), Partnership for 21stCentury Skills (n.d.), unless the gap is bridged between how students learn and how they live, today's education system will face irrelevance. The way people work and live has been transformed by demographic, economic, political, technological, and informational forces. Schools must adapt to these…

The emerging three-dimensional (3D) virtual world (VW) technology offers great potential for teaching contemporary digital art and growing digital visual culture in 21st-century art education. Such online virtual worlds are built and conceptualized based on information visualization and visual metaphors. Recently, an increasing number of…

... From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Research Service Notice of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21stCentury Agriculture....C. App., the United States Department of Agriculture announces a meeting of the Advisory...

L. S. Vygotsky, the psychologist and teacher from Byelorussia who became a central figure in Soviet psychological and educational circles in the 1920s and 1930s, has become a frequent citation in 21st-century scholarship. He is most-often invoked to support some form of instructional scaffolding, based on his idea of the zone of proximal…

Historically, distance education applications served a select group of students through self-paced technical short courses that required scant to little interaction with their instructors. Today's 21stcentury distance education focuses on a) reaching underserved prospective students within a social justice framework, b) global recruitment, and c)…

The rich biodiversity of southern Africa has to date been relatively unimpacted by the activities of modern society, but to what degree will this situation persist into the 21stcentury? We use a leading global environmental assessment model (IMAGE) to explore future land use and climate change in s

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals need to be equipped with a set of strategies and tools to prepare their students for the challenges they will face in the 21stcentury. Nationwide, educators are integrating a set of skills deemed essential for student success in college and a career. Building upon these skills and the process areas…

With a limited budget, but a critical need to develop 21stcentury marketplace skills, Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) developed the Million Dollar Difference Campaign. Focusing on how quality instruction affects retention and student outcomes, GPC re-energized a 1000-faculty workforce in one year through a series of innovative teaching…

A new paradigm is implicit within the constructivist and narrative methods for career intervention that have emerged in the 21stcentury. This article makes that general pattern explicit by abstracting its key elements from the specific instances that substantiate the new conceptual model. The paradigm for life design interventions constructs…

There is growing recognition that identity formation must become an important focus in education. Particularly in the 21stcentury, when modes of knowledge construction and accessibility to different types of knowledge are rapidly increasing and diversifying, academic learning cannot be divorced from students' development of values, goals, social…

The prospective place of the aging worker in the employment environment of the 21stcentury is examined. The following are among the specific topics discussed: (1) the real world of work and retirement; (2) the changing employment environment; (3) the restructuring of business in the United States; (4) globalization and the economy; (5) downsizing…

What are the core competences required by teacher-librarians for developing exemplary school library programs in 21st-century schools? This article reports on a study that explored the experiences and attitudes of graduates from the Teacher Librarianship by Distance Learning program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Key findings from this…

Recently, technology has become an educational necessity in global-digital era. Facing these phenomena, social studies (SS) should make innovations related to changes of 21st-century skills and learning paradigm, which is characterized by the principles of disclosure of information, computing, automation, and communication. Technology integration…

This paper revisits the term "andragogy" (adult education) and develops a new concept based upon an analysis of the skills and dispositions of 21stcentury learners in initial teacher education through the lens of adult education: "digital andragogy." In order to engage and retain students and revitalise education courses by…

Researchers conducted a mixed-methods study with 21 undergraduate university students majoring in education to determine their ability to recognize the motivational factors and 21st-century learning skills associated with digital games. Results suggest that students in the study were able to detect the learning skills embedded in games. The…

This publication is one of a series of case studies of energy-efficient modern laboratories; it was prepared for "Laboratories for the 21stCentury," a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. DOE Federal Energy Management Program

This paper examines the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) as the most viable and effective platform for 21stcentury educational and instructional methodologies based on the understanding of the value of diversity in today's classrooms and educational institutions, the unique qualities and characteristics of individual learners, the…

This paper aims at investigating the use of mass media in distance education in Nigeria with a view to making suggestions for their effective use during the 21stcentury. Distance education programmes, especially those of the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos are examined. These two institutions made bold and commendable efforts. However, while the…

The release of AASL's "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" and "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" has provided school library media specialists with the opportunity to "develop new visions for learning" (AASL 2009), and to rethink what their roles are, and what skills and characteristics are required of them to…

This column explores the idea of using 21st-century mentor texts to guide students in the development of critical literacy. The column focuses on one example from the U.S. presidential election of 2012 to illustrate how teachers might engage students to unpack the socially constructed nature of literacy. The author argues that the changing reading…

This paper examines the role of Information and Communication Technology in the Teaching and Learning of History in the Senior Secondary School in the 21stcentury. The new Information and communication technologies of internet and multimedia which have led to positive impact in the field of education in most developed countries are still at…

School and classroom structures designed to meet the needs of the industrial past cannot "maintain the temperature required for sustaining life." Recent learning sciences research findings compel educators to invent new learning environments better suited to meet the demands of the 21stcentury. These new learning environments require different…

This article showcases the use of gamification as a means to turn an existing curriculum into a game-based learning environment. The purpose of this article is to examine how gamification, coupled with effective pedagogy, can support the acquisition of 21st-century skills. Gamifying content allows students to earn experience points, badges, and…

Full Text Available There is a need to redefine physician excellence through promoting professionalism with humanism to meet the needs of a diverse generational and cultural society. My goal is to bring together and advance concepts that cultivate emotional and social intelligence to complement the clinical skills required for the effective practice of medicine in the complex milieu of the 21stcentury

"Character," "creativity," "real-world problem solving," "communication skills," "teaming," and "leadership" are some of the skills and values that will be expected of graduates. In the conversation about what constitutes a high-quality 21stcentury school, however, the more complex question is about the varied paths schools might take to achieve…

In the second decade of the 21stcentury, information has been globalized, digitized, and sped up to move at the speed of thought. Being literate in this new world means programming personal websites, sending e-mails from mobile devices and spending hours communicating via virtual social networks. Our students are products of this world. However,…

In the 21stcentury, the idea of preparing youth for the workforce has taken on new meaning. The shift to a knowledge economy has brought widespread concern that young people are entering the workforce without the skills employers value most, such as communication, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork skills. As youth programs evaluate how…

This article addresses the core competences, attitudes and knowledge that the authors believe will promote transformative learning in the 21stcentury and should, therefore, feature in curriculum design. It first defines the purpose of curriculum, stressing the need for a coherent worldwide understanding of what is meant and intended by…

In the 21stcentury, agricultural research has more difficult and complex problems to solve. The continued increase in population in the developing countries requires continued increases in agricultural production. However, the increased use of fertilizers, pesticides, and water required for the new...

The purpose of this paper is to comment upon nuclear prospects in the 21stcentury, from a US perspective. This will be done in broad, general terms, rather than in the technical terms that nuclear specialists use most of the time

What are the major priorities for preparing educational leaders for their work in school communities? Clues to this question are nestled within higher education curricula. Prevalent 21st-century priorities that governing standards specify, such as innovation, assessment, distributed leadership, and technology, must be vigorously shaped into social…

Digital technologies have had a significant impact on how educators have come to understand and define literacy, and on the types of literacies and literacy practices that are required in the 21stcentury. In response, organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) have designed frameworks that attempt to articulate…

This article discusses the RSA Opening Minds competence framework, an innovative curriculum to meet the needs of young people as future employees, lifelong learners and as citizens of the twenty-first century.

Chemistry and chemical engineering have changed very significantly in the last half century. From classical sciences they have broadened their scope into biology, medicine, physics, material science, nanotechnology, computation and advanced methods of process engineering and control. The applications of chemical compounds, materials and knowledge have also dramatically increased. The development of chemical sciences in the scientifically most advanced countries, at the end of the last century...

Teaching and learning in the 21stcentury aims to produce students proficient in content knowledge, specific abilities, literacy, numeracy, and technology uses. From these 21stcentury skills, soft skills were delineated from these learning outcomes; and defined as intra- and interpersonal skills vital for personal development, social…

The developing countries have to ensure that their development in the new millennium is supported by a strong infrastructure to meet the challenges of this century where survival would be of the fittest. In India, globalization of economy will be the main thrust in this century. Today self reliance and determination is needed to develop, adopt and implement new technologies which are more efficient and eco-friendly. The economy of the country calls for a higher rate of growth in the power infrastructure. To ensure the momentum of 7 per cent overall growth in the economy, India need about 12-14 per cent growth in power generation. In power sector, selection of resources, systems, fuel options and appropriate technology would be major determinants that will decide the success for sustained development in the new century

Full Text Available Boko Haram in Nigeria provides an important example of the combination of religion and violence in the conditions of the twenty-first century. It is both a movement in the pattern of religiously-justified violence and a significant representative of the emergence of new types of modern terrorism in recent years. This article examines both of these aspects of Boko Haram as an example of religious violence. In the general development of religiously justified violence, Boko Haram is the heir to a long jihad tradition in West Africa. Its emergence follows well-established patterns of older militant Muslim groups, but it also departs significantly from those patterns as it shapes itself as a movement in the patterns of contemporary, twenty-first century modes of religious violence. Boko Haram is also identified, in twenty-first century terms, as a religious terrorist organization. As a religious terrorist group, it fits the pattern of what David Rapoport calls the fourth wave—the religious wave—of modern terrorism. However, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, Boko Haram exhibits characteristics of a new style of religious terrorism that is more like the so-called Islamic State than the older type of terrorist organization of al-Qa’idah.

This article provides a brief history of the development of library subject guides (often referred to as pathfinders) from the late 1800s to the present. During this period, subject guides have changed both their focus and format. The needs of academic institutions at the turn of the 20th century were very different than they are today, and…

Tidal power technology is reviewed and its prospects for the next century assessed. It is concluded that the technology is now in place and, given the political will to secure financing, tidal power offers a clean, renewable and sustainable source of power for the near future. (UK)

Fruit producers world-wide are facing challenges including climate change, reductions in available labor, the need for reduced chemical inputs, the spread of native and exotic pests and pathogens, and consumer demands for improved fruit quality and health benefits. Over the past quarter century, ou...

Boko Haram in Nigeria provides an important example of the combination of religion and violence in the conditions of the twenty-first century. It is both a movement in the pattern of religiously-justified violence and a significant representative of the emergence of new types of modern terrorism in recent years. This article examines both of these aspects of Boko Haram as an example of religious violence. In the general development of religiously justified violence, Boko Haram is the heir to ...

The latter years of the first decade of the twenty-first century were characterised by an enormous amount of challenge and change to Australia and Australians. Australia’s part in these challenges and changes is borne of our domestic and global ties, our orientation towards ourselves and others, and an ever increasing awareness of the interdependency of our world. Challenges and changes such as terrorism, climate change, human rights, community breakdown, work and livelihood, and crime are no...

This paper reviews Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Piketty's Capital seeks to bring the issue of inequality back to the centre of social analysis and to encourage discussion about the evolution of wealth and inequality with a view to inform policy. The book uses data stretching as far back as the 1700's. The main thesis of the book is that capitalism automatically generates inequality and wealth concentration since the rate of return on capital always exceeds the growt...

Modeling globally averaged information on climate forcing from the land surface temperature data, the sea surface temperatures (SST) and the empirically determined relationship between the changes in SST and the turbulent diffusion of heat into the upper ocean demonstrates a consistent link. The modeling is accurate throughout the 20th century despite the different phases of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) or the strong divergence between land and ocean surface warming. It only fai...

What makes the 21stcentury different from the 20th century? This century is the century of extremes -- political, economic, social, and global black-swan events happening with increasing frequency and severity. Book of Extremes is a tour of the current reality as seen through the lens of complexity theory – the only theory capable of explaining why the Arab Spring happened and why it will happen again; why social networks in the virtual world behave like flashmobs in the physical world; why financial bubbles blow up in our faces and will grow and burst again; why the rich get richer and will continue to get richer regardless of governmental policies; why the future of economic wealth and national power lies in comparative advantage and global trade; why natural disasters will continue to get bigger and happen more frequently; and why the Internet – invented by the US -- is headed for a global monopoly controlled by a non-US corporation. It is also about the extreme innovations and heroic innovators yet t...

Full Text Available In today’s globalised digital era, students are inevitably engaged in various multimodal texts due to their active participation in social media and frequent usage of mobile devices on a daily basis. Such daily activities advocate the need for a transformation in the teaching and learning of ESL lessons in order to promote students’ capabilities in making meaning of different literacy texts which students come across in their ESL learning activities. This paper puts forth the framework of Multimodality in the restructuring of the teaching and learning of ESL with the aim of investigating its effects and students perspectives on the use of multimodal approaches underlying the Multiliteracies theory. Using focus group interviews, this qualitative case study examines the effectiveness of ESL teaching and learning using the Multimodal approaches on literacy in meaning-making among 15 students in a private school in Penang, Malaysia. The results confirm the need to reorientate the teaching and learning of ESL with the focus on multimodal pedagogical practices as it promotes positive learning outcomes among students. The implications of this study suggest that the multimodal approaches integrated in the teaching and learning of ESL have the capacity to promote students’ autonomy in learning, improve motivation to learn and facilitate various learning styles.Keywords: Multimodal Approaches; Multiliteracies; Monomodal; Flipped Classroom; Literacy; Multimodal texts; Ipad

The main purpose of this paper is to document the development of the state administration building in Malaysia before and after the independence era, in relation to the evolutionary period of Malaysia's political, social and economic history. Multiple case study approach [19] is applied by referring to six prominent case studies to represent state administrative buildings from various phases of Malaysian history beginning from 14th century to 21stcentury as exemplar. Since this paper formulates new ways to approach and describes state administrative building design and factors that influence them, it uses interpretivism paradigm and (semiotics) as methodological approach to study the relationship between the building design and contextual elements. This paper, therefore, offers new insights, which not only add to knowledge in this field by widening and strengthening the understanding of state administrative architecture in Malaysia, but also are valuable for range of associated fields including architectural semiotics and non verbal communication. This is because this paper reveals deep understandings of the built form and material environment operating as a sign in a cultural and social context.

The main purpose of this paper is to document the development of the state administration building in Malaysia before and after the independence era, in relation to the evolutionary period of Malaysia's political, social and economic history. Multiple case study approach [19] is applied by referring to six prominent case studies to represent state administrative buildings from various phases of Malaysian history beginning from 14th century to 21stcentury as exemplar. Since this paper formulates new ways to approach and describes state administrative building design and factors that influence them, it uses interpretivism paradigm and (semiotics) as methodological approach to study the relationship between the building design and contextual elements. This paper, therefore, offers new insights, which not only add to knowledge in this field by widening and strengthening the understanding of state administrative architecture in Malaysia, but also are valuable for range of associated fields including architectural semiotics and non verbal communication. This is because this paper reveals deep understandings of the built form and material environment operating as a sign in a cultural and social context

Traditionally fisheries management has focused on biomass and mortality, expressed annually and across large management units. However, because fish abundance varies at much smaller spatio-temporal scales, fishing mortality can potentially be controlled more effectively if managed at finer scale. The ecosystem approach requires more indicators at finer scales as well. Incorporating ecosystem targets would need additional management tools with potentially conflicting results. We present a simp...

This work examines the main features of modern electronic noses (e-noses) and their most important applications in food control in this new century. The three components of an electronic nose (sample handling system, detection system, and data processing system) are described. Special attention is devoted to the promising mass spectrometry based e-noses, due to their advantages over the more classical gas sensors. Applications described include process monitoring, shelf-life investigation, freshness evaluation, authenticity assessment, as well as other general aspects of the utilization of electronic noses in food control. Finally, some interesting remarks concerning the strengths and weaknesses of electronic noses in food control are also mentioned.

This work examines the main features of modern electronic noses (e-noses) and their most important applications in food control in this new century. The three components of an electronic nose (sample handling system, detection system, and data processing system) are described. Special attention is devoted to the promising mass spectrometry based e-noses, due to their advantages over the more classical gas sensors. Applications described include process monitoring, shelf-life investigation, freshness evaluation, authenticity assessment, as well as other general aspects of the utilization of electronic noses in food control. Finally, some interesting remarks concerning the strengths and weaknesses of electronic noses in food control are also mentioned.

Epilepsy remains an attractive vehicle for filmmakers in the twenty-first century. This review examines the themes of twenty-one films, released between 2000 and 2014, that feature a character with epilepsy or a pivotal scene involving a seizure. Epilepsy continues to be associated with the supernatural in modern cinematic output. Demonic possession and epilepsy now share a similar cinematic lexicon. Unfortunately, the overlap is more than just visual. Supernatural treatments of narratives that claim to be 'based on a true story' of someone with epilepsy continue to blur the lines between medical and spiritual realms. Although there has been a steady progression away from concealment of the condition, epilepsy continues to signal 'otherness' in movie characters and seldom in a good way. All too often, a character has epilepsy to maximize the unease of the audience with them; it is a device that is used to signal 'this character is not like you'. However, amongst the hackneyed negative stereotypes, accurate portrayals of the condition are beginning to emerge, not least due to active collaborations between filmmakers and epilepsy advocacy groups. Far from being worthy, it is heartening that these films are also those that are the most absorbing and thought-provoking of the cinematic output thus far this century. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Epilepsy, Art, and Creativity". PMID:26907968

The masses coupling constants and cosmological parameters obtained using our discrete and combinatorial physics based on discrimination between bit-strings indicate that we can achieve the unification of quantum mechanics with relativity which had become the goal of twentieth century physics. To broaden our case we show that limitations on measurement of the position and velocity of an individual massive particle observed in a colliding beam scattering experiment imply real, rational commutation relations between position and velocity. Prior to this limit being pushed down to quantum effects, the lower bound is set by the available technology, but is otherwise scale invariant. Replacing force by force per unit mass and force per unit charge allows us to take over the Feynman-Dyson proof of the Maxwell Equations and extend it to weak gravity. The crossing symmetry of the individual scattering processes when one or more particles are replaced by anti-particles predicts both Coulomb attraction (for charged particles) and a Newtonian repulsion between any particle and its anti-particle. Previous quantum results remain intact, and predict the expected relativistic fine structure and spin dependencies. Experimental confirmation of this anti-gravity prediction would inaugurate the physics of the twenty-first century

The issues discussed were: Looking on the positive side, despite adverse public reaction, ns and t in general continues to gain followers and users. Nuclear power reactors are still generating electricity and its other peaceful applications are contributing to the development of the socioeconomic sectors of many countries. The network of international as wen as regional cooperation for nuclear safety and agreement for nuclear weapons free zones, among others, should provide the international administrative infrastructure for ns and t to continue serving humanity in the next century. In respect of nuclear power, the Asia and Pacific region is experiencing rapid growth. Its energy needs will increase in the future. At some point, nuclear power may become favorable again as the ability of conventional energy resources to fifflu energy needs decreases and the pressure to reduce environmental burden increases. Within the next century, other regions of the world is expected to be on the same path. The early starters of the West would experience capacity degradation due to aging of their nuclear reactors; this needs to be replaced. If the two coincides, then there would be enough motivation for further development and utilization of ns and t for power production. In the non-power applications, industrialization of countries in the developing regions will create new avenues for nuclear technology to grow. Efforts to demilitarized the technology would create new civilian applications. Again assuming they achieve a synergy, growth of ns and t in the future can be expected

Full Text Available Chemistry and chemical engineering have changed very significantly in the last half century. From classical sciences they have broadened their scope into biology, medicine, physics, material science, nanotechnology, computation and advanced methods of process engineering and control. The applications of chemical compounds, materials and knowledge have also dramatically increased. The development of chemical sciences in the scientifically most advanced countries, at the end of the last century was extrapolated to the next several decades in this review and challenges for chemists and chemical engineers are described. Research, discovery and invention across the entire spectrum of activities in the chemical sciences, from fundamental molecular-level chemistry to large-scale chemical processing technology are summarized. The strong integration of chemical science and engineering into all other natural sciences, agriculture, environmental science, medicine, as well as into physics, material science and information technology is discussed. Some challenges for chemists and chemical engineers are reviewed in the following fields: i synthesis and manufacturing of chemical products, ii chemistry for medicine and biology, iii new materials, iv chemical and physical transformations of materials, v chemistry in the solving of energy problems (generation and savings, vi environmental chemistry: fundamental and practical challenges.

There was evidence that RNAs are a functionally rich class of molecules not only since the arrival of the next-generation sequencing technology. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) could be the key to accelerated diagnosis and enhanced prediction of disease and therapy outcomes as well as the design of advanced therapeutic strategies to overcome yet unsatisfactory approaches.In this review, we discuss the state of the art in RNA systems biology with focus on the application in the systems biomedicine field. We propose guidelines for analysing the role of microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs in human pathologies. We introduce RNA expression profiling and network approaches for the identification of stable and effective RNomics-based biomarkers, providing insights into the role of ncRNAs in disease regulation. Towards this, we discuss ways to model the dynamics of gene regulatory networks and signalling pathways that involve ncRNAs. We also describe data resources and computational methods for finding putative mechanisms of action of ncRNAs. Finally, we discuss avenues for the computer-aided design of novel RNA-based therapeutics. PMID:26330575

The basic physics that governs the interaction of energetic ion beams with solids has its roots in the atomic and nuclear physics of the last century. The central formalism of Jens Lindhard, describing the 'particle-solid interaction', provides a valuable quantitative guide to statistically meaningful quantities such as energy loss, ranges, range straggling, channeling effects, sputtering coefficients, and damage intensity and profiles. Modern materials modification (nanoscience, solid state dynamics) requires atomic scale control of the particle-solid interaction. Two recent experimental examples are discussed: (1) the control of the size distribution of nanocrystals formed in implanted materials and (2) the investigation of the site-specific implantation of hydrogen into silicon. Both cases illustrate unique solid-state configurations, created by ion implantation, that address issues of current materials science interest

Since the first development of a rabies vaccine by Pasteur in the late 19th century, second- and third-generation vaccines with improved efficacy and less reactogenicity have been developed for use in humans and animals. Despite the availability of safe but rather expensive vaccines based on inactivated virus propagated in diploid cell cultures, much of the human vaccinations worldwide are still carried out with nerve tissue-containing vaccines, which have various side effects. A number of experimental vaccines are under development that may provide alternative safe and potent but less expensive vaccine options. These include DNA vaccines, recombinant viral vaccines, and recombinant protein vaccines. Further testing is needed to determine if and which one of these novel vaccines will make their way into mass production and application in the future. PMID:12031102

Modeling globally averaged information on climate forcing from the land surface temperature data, the sea surface temperatures (SST) and the empirically determined relationship between the changes in SST and the turbulent diffusion of heat into the upper ocean demonstrates a consistent link. The modeling is accurate throughout the 20th century despite the different phases of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) or the strong divergence between land and ocean surface warming. It only fails during the last 15 years when SST drops well below the trend. The finding reinforces the view that slower global warming over the previous 15 years is not a caused by a negative phase of the IPO or by the variations in the upper ocean (top 700 m) warming but results from a change in the ocean behavior leading to increased heat transfer into the deeper ocean.

The end of the 20th century has seen a major reorganization of Italian astronomy. In about a decade, from 1999 to 2011, three successive laws have moved Italian astronomy from a system based on three major pillars (the twelve independent national astronomical observatories coordinated by the Public Education, University and Research Ministry through a consultative committee; the three CNR institutes devoted to astrophysics; and several university departments, either of astronomy or physics), to a single National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). It includes all astronomical abservatories and the three CNR institutes, and collaborates with university groups operating within multi-thematic physics departments. This paper briefly describes the status, achievements and projects of Italian astrophysics, as well as some of the likely further changes coming up.

Full Text Available The present article is divided in two parts. The first one deals with the contribution of José E. Burucúa’s book: Historia, Arte, Cultura. De Aby Warburg a Carlo Ginzburg to the field of Warburgian studies. The following aspects receive particular attention throughout this article: (i the growing importance of Warburg’s thought in relation to the crisis of the major 20th century historical narratives and the linguistic turn; (ii the relevance of certain concepts (such as das Nachleben der Antike, the Denkraum and Pathosformeln to the present field of cultural studies, and (iii Burucúa’s position regarding the current theoretical disputes taking place among those intellectuals influenced by Warburg's ideas. The second part reproduces an interview with the Argentinean art historian, in which he discusses in detail certain cultural phenomena, through a Warburgian perspective.

The evolution of stratospheric ozone from 1960 to 2100 is examined in simulations from fourteen chemistry-climate models. There is general agreement among the models at the broadest levels, showing column ozone decreasing at all latitudes from 1960 to around 2000, then increasing at all latitudes over the first half of the 21stcentury, and latitudinal variations in the rate of increase and date of return to historical values. In the second half of the century, ozone is projected to continue increasing, level off or even decrease depending on the latitude, resulting in variable dates of return to historical values at latitudes where column ozone has declined below those levels. Separation into partial column above and below 20 hPa reveals that these latitudinal differences are almost completely due to differences in the lower stratosphere. At all latitudes, upper stratospheric ozone increases throughout the 21stcentury and returns to 1960 levels before the end of the century, although there is a spread among the models in dates that ozone returns to historical values. Using multiple linear regression, we find decreasing halogens and increasing greenhouse gases contribute almost equally to increases in the upper stratospheric ozone. In the tropical lower stratosphere an increase in tropical upwelling causes a steady decrease in ozone through the 21stcentury, and total column ozone does not return to 1960 levels in all models. In contrast, lower stratospheric and total column ozone in middle and high latitudes increases during the 21stcentury and returns to 1960 levels.

To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years, and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity conditions already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of the world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative coordinates its work with other ongoing scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) and the representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water-energy-climate nexus.

Current business and educational environments are mandating the identification, building, and assessment of specific critical competencies for the workforce. However, traditional approaches to competency analysis are often slow, expensive, and backward looking. This article presents several new computer-aided approaches to competency analysis and…

the different scales of the hydrological (local to regional) and of the GCM (global), one is faced with the problem of 'downscaling' the coarse grid resolution output of the GCM to the fine grid of the hydrological model. Although there have been numerous downscaling approaches proposed to that regard over the last decade, the jury is still out about the best method to use in a particular application. The focus here is on the downscaling part of the investigation, i.e. the proper preparation of the GCM's output to serve as input, i.e. the driving force, to the hydrological model (which is not further discussed here). Daily ensembles of climate variables computed by means of the CGCM3 model of the Canadian Climate Center which has a horizontal grid resolution of approximately the size of the whole study basin are used here, indicating clearly the need for downscaling. Daily observations of local climate variables available since 1971 are used as additional input to the various downscaling tools proposed which are, namely, the stochastic weather generator (LARS-WG), the statistical downscaling model (SDSM), and a multiple linear regression model between the observed variables and the CGCM3 predictors. Both the 2D and the 3D versions of the CGCM3 model are employed to predict, 100 years ahead up to year 2100, the monthly rainfall and temperatures, based on the past calibration period (training period) 1971-2000. To investigate the prediction performance, multiple linear regression, autoregressive (AR) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models are applied to the time series of the observation data which are aggregated into monthly time steps to be able compare them with the downscaling results above. Likewise, multiple linear regression and ARIMA models also executed on the CGCM3 predictors and the Pacific / Indian oceans indices as external regressors to predict short-term local climate variations. The results of the various downscaling method are

Full Text Available The two technologies that will essentially determine the shape of things to come in the present century are biotechnology and information technology. A merger of biotechnology and information technology is happening right now, a significant example of which is the success of the human genome project. Biotechnology can be said to have started with the unravelling of the structure of DNA in 1953. The next decade saw exciting developments in our understanding of the fundamentals of functioning of biological system, including the role of DNA in protein synthesis. The discovery of reverse transcriptase and restriction enzymes in 1970s paved the way for further advances, including recombinant DNA and hybridoma technologies, often called 'genetic engineering'. The discovery of polymerase chain reaction in 1986 laid the foundation for large-scale applications of biotechnology in various fields. The practical applications of mapping of the entire human genome would be enormous in terms of better overall health care (diagnosis, therapy and management of disorders. In the field of flora and fauna, it generally happens that biotechnologically-rich countries have poor biodiversity and vice versa. But countries like India and China that have rich biodiversity have, by the use of biotechnology, the potential to become also biotechnologically rich.

A major part of technological advancement has involved the development of complex infrastructure systems, including electric power generation, transmission, and distribution networks; oil and gas pipeline systems; highway and rail networks; and telecommunication networks. Dependence on these infrastructure systems renders them attractive targets for conflict in the twenty-first century. Hostile governments, domestic and international terrorists, criminals, and mentally distressed individuals will inevitably find some part of the infrastructure an easy target for theft, for making political statements, for disruption of strategic activities, or for making a nuisance. The current situation regarding the vulnerability of the infrastructure can be summarized in three major points: (1) our dependence on technology has made our infrastructure more important and vital to our everyday lives, this in turn, makes us much more vulnerable to disruption in any infrastructure system; (2) technologies available for attacking infrastructure systems have changed substantially and have become much easier to obtain and use, easy accessibility to information on how to disrupt or destroy various infrastructure components means that almost anyone can be involved in this destructive process; (3) technologies for defending infrastructure systems and preventing damage have not kept pace with the capability for destroying such systems. A brief review of these points will illustrate the significance of infrastructure and the growing dangers to its various elements.

In the 1960s there were large-scale concerns about the world's ability to feed itself. However, widespread adoption of "green revolution" technology led to major increases in food-grain production. Between 1966 and 1990, the population of the densely populated low-income countries grew by 80%, but food production more than doubled. The technological advance that led to the dramatic achievements in world food production over the last 30 years was the development of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. These varieties are responsive to fertilizer inputs, are lodging resistant, and their yield potential is 2-3 times that of varieties available prior to the green revolution. In addition, these varieties have multiple resistance to diseases and insects and thus have yield stability. The development of irrigation facilities, the availability of inorganic fertilizers, and benign government policies have all facilitated the adoption of green-revolution technology. In the 1990s, the rate of growth in food-grain production has been lower than the rate of growth in population. If this trend is not reversed, serious food shortages will occur in the next century. To meet the challenge of feeding 8 billion people by 2020, we have to prepare now and develop the technology for raising farm productivity. We have to develop cereal cultivars with higher yield potential and greater yield stability. We must also develop strategies for integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, and efficient utilization of water and soil resources. PMID:10464789

Full Text Available This essay surveys the state of the humanities at this critical time. What will be the role of the humanities at the end of this century and beyond? I discuss the “crisis of the humanities” by examining the current challenges of globalization, economic shifts, and extensive budget cuts. I also discuss the social and political divisions that contribute to a crisis within the humanities. Since the culture wars that began in the 1960’s, the content, scope, and focus of the humanities have changed dramatically, and this has impacted how the humanities are perceived and valued by the general public. The second half of the essay makes the case for the vital importance of the humanities. I argue that the fate of the humanities is inseparable from the future of human beings. I highlight the current problems of war, environmental degradation, and mass surveillance that must be managed before they overwhelm and derail the potential for dramatic progress. Following recent scholarship and research trends, I explain how technological advancements will lead to the most significant evolutionary changes to the human being in aeons. Through technologies such as bionics, transgenesis, robotics, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence, Homo sapiens might be enabled to transcend its former limits and usher in an era of transhumanism. The relevant question is: What do we want to be? I argue that enhancement technologies will make their beneficiaries more robotic and less human, and explain why we must treasure the advantages of our distinctly human capacities and resist the prospect of empowering ourselves to become automatons. My underlying thesis is that developing an understanding of the most insightful ideas and cultivating an appreciation for the greatest creative works that humankind has produced will be crucial for maintaining our humanity. The humanities thus make a unique and indispensable contribution to defining what and who we want our

This review identifies a number of exciting new developments in the understanding of vision in cartilaginous fishes that have been made since the turn of the century. These include the results of studies on various aspects of the visual system including eye size, visual fields, eye design and the optical system, retinal topography and spatial resolving power, visual pigments, spectral sensitivity and the potential for colour vision. A number of these studies have covered a broad range of species, thereby providing valuable information on how the visual systems of these fishes are adapted to different environmental conditions. For example, oceanic and deep-sea sharks have the largest eyes amongst elasmobranchs and presumably rely more heavily on vision than coastal and benthic species, while interspecific variation in the ratio of rod and cone photoreceptors, the topographic distribution of the photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells in the retina and the spatial resolving power of the eye all appear to be closely related to differences in habitat and lifestyle. Multiple, spectrally distinct cone photoreceptor visual pigments have been found in some batoid species, raising the possibility that at least some elasmobranchs are capable of seeing colour, and there is some evidence that multiple cone visual pigments may also be present in holocephalans. In contrast, sharks appear to have only one cone visual pigment. There is evidence that ontogenetic changes in the visual system, such as changes in the spectral transmission properties of the lens, lens shape, focal ratio, visual pigments and spatial resolving power, allow elasmobranchs to adapt to environmental changes imposed by habitat shifts and niche expansion. There are, however, many aspects of vision in these fishes that are not well understood, particularly in the holocephalans. Therefore, this review also serves to highlight and stimulate new research in areas that still require significant attention. PMID

This document introduces community leaders and practitioners to innovative approaches to improving workforce literacy by building accessible lifelong learning systems to prepare adults with the array of skills needed to prosper in the new economy. The introduction defines literacy and workforce literacy and outlines the challenges that education,…

Full Text Available The usual procedures for ecological risk assessment (ERA have been based for decades on simplified approaches in order to provide basic information on the huge amount of chemicals introduced into the environment. These approaches allowed the development of international regulatory tools capable of substantially reducing the adverse effects on ecosystems in developed countries. Nevertheless, these approaches suffer from a lack of ecological realism and are poorly suitable for understanding the actual consequences for ecosystem health. The need for more ecologically-based approaches is now recognized by the scientific community and has been highlighted by a recent document of the European Commission. In this paper, a synthesis is presented of the most important issues and the need for research to improve the ecological realism of exposure and effect assessment and the tools that should be developed to reach this objective. In particular, the major challenges are the following: the effects of variable exposure patterns; the vulnerability of ecosystems; the indirect ecological effects; the responses to multiple stress factors; the improvement of ecological modeling. The possibilities for using new scientific achievements in regulatory ERA are also discussed.

When we say that a process is "controlled" we mean that we know as much as it is possible to know about that process. When we say that a process has been "characterized", we mean that we know exactly how many critical steps there are, and that we know exactly what happens in each of those steps. Every step has a metric and a tolerance. When that metric is monitored and measured, preferably on a real-time basis, manufacturing management has the necessary data to control that process, and to reap the benefits that come with such control. Developing and installing the instrumentation needed to measure processes required the better part of the 20th Century. Today's process instrumentation can measure every conceivable physical parameter, record it, and communicate it anywhere in the world. This method does have its drawbacks: such instrumentation can be expensive, and often the parameters being measured are only indirectly related to the process. The benefits, however, of a stable, reliable process are worth the effort. The technology that supports instrumentation continually improves, as indeed, it has to if it is not to become obsolete in short order. For some time, however, the greatest improvement in the field has been in improving measurement of physical parameters based on physics, engineering and computer science. However better that focus becomes, process instrumentation development now has an alternative path. Although the end hardware, of course, is still physical, the path is based on a different model: biology, rather than physics. This new path emulates the neural network--that is, the brain. Using neural networks for process control is as old as processes themselves. Long before today's sophisticated instruments, a person would examine a process for some time, learn how it worked, and make a judgement about how well it was actually doing what it was supposed to do. Decisions about process performance were based on what someone observed, and

It is widely recognised that global energy demand will rise substantially during this century. The increased industrialization and urbanization of developing countries will produce large increases in energy demand in regions that currently have very low per capita energy use. This increasing demand for energy will need to be met in order to improve living standards for at least half of the world population and to reduce the economic imbalances between countries and regions. At the same time the use of fossil fuel based energy is identified as a major cause of environmental damage. The release of greenhouse gases from burning of fossil fuel in power stations and for transport is seen as a contributor to global warming. It is widely recognised that continued exploitation of fossil fuels and release of carbon dioxide will need to be controlled. After a prolonged period of slow development of nuclear power, confined to some countries in the world, it is now being recognised that nuclear energy has a potentially significant role to play in meeting the energy needs of the planet without damaging the environment. Developments in technology make the economics of nuclear power more attractive, and they may become even more so as fossil fuel prices continue to rise.or a widespread use of nuclear power, however, there remain concerns on the safety, security, waste and proliferation aspects. The global application of safety standards and appropriate security measures are required to ensure acceptable levels of protection. Effective control measures are required to ensure that non-proliferation commitments are honored. Handling nuclear waste safely and securely is achievable, but continues to remain as a public concern. The broad strategic objectives of the Conference are the following: to review the role of nuclear power and to define the potential benefits (energy security, sustainability and improved environmental protection) that expanding nuclear power offers to meet the

This paper: reviews the development to date of agri-environmental policy in Europe; provides a critical assessment of its achievements and shortcomings; explores its likely future trajectory in the context of continuing CAP reform; highlights potential conflicts that may result; and draws comparisons with policy approaches in Australia and the US. The paper argues that the first generation of agri-environmental measures, implemented by northern European states in the early 1980s, focused on p...

Psychophysiology, physiological psychology (Sechenov), human physiology of higher nervous activity (Pavlov) is an interdisciplinary field, which appeared at the interface between psychology and neurosciences for exploration of the brain mechanisms of mental functions. The fundamental complementation of subjective and objective, psychological and neurobiological approaches as the facets of investigation of the basically whole process made it possible to fill with a specific content and clearly differentiate the forms of human psyche such as emotion, consciousness, personality, character, and creativity. PMID:10486886

Active Thermochemical Tables (ATcT) are a good example of a significant breakthrough in chemical science that is directly enabled by the US DOE SciDAC initiative. ATcT is a new paradigm of how to obtain accurate, reliable, and internally consistent thermochemistry and overcome the limitations that are intrinsic to the traditional sequential approach to thermochemistry. The availability of high-quality consistent thermochemical values is critical in many areas of chemistry, including the development of realistic predictive models of complex chemical environments such as combustion or the atmosphere, or development and improvement of sophisticated high-fidelity electronic structure computational treatments. As opposed to the traditional sequential evolution of thermochemical values for the chemical species of interest, ATcT utilizes the Thermochemical Network (TN) approach. This approach explicitly exposes the maze of inherent interdependencies normally ignored by the conventional treatment, and allows, inter alia, a statistical analysis of the individual measurements that define the TN. The end result is the extraction of the best possible thermochemistry, based on optimal use of all the currently available knowledge, hence making conventional tabulations of thermochemical values obsolete. Moreover, ATcT offer a number of additional features that are neither present nor possible in the traditional approach. With ATcT, new knowledge can be painlessly propagated through all affected thermochemical values. ATcT also allows hypothesis testing and evaluation, as well as discovery of weak links in the TN. The latter provides pointers to new experimental or theoretical determinations that can most efficiently improve the underlying thermochemical body of knowledge

The intent of this research is to gather together the various approaches for controlling and reducing Total Ownership Cost (TOC) and to describe tools and methods to assist PMs and others in addressing TOC more effectively. This study examines TOC from the perspective of congressional direction, the perspective of the OSD and Service leadership's governance the perspective of PM execution, and the perspective of available infrastructure support.

Several trends in society have led to a request towards schools to integrate 21stCentury Skills and technology enhanced formative assessment (TEFA) in their curricula. Although there are frameworks defined at an international level, implementation of technology enhanced formative assessment of 21st

Full Text Available For centuries medicine was predominantly a tradition-based "trade" until the introduction of science transformed it into an intellectually rigorous discipline. That transformation contributed heavily to the dominance in medical education of learning biomedical concepts ("knowing that" over learning to translate that knowledge into clinical performance ("knowing how". The recent emergence of performance-oriented educational initiatives suggests, however, that the balance between these two complementary approaches is changing, a change that has been referred to as "the Flexnerian revolution of the 21stcentury." Problem-based learning, learning the practice of evidence-based medicine, and learning to use clinical guidelines are among the important initiatives designed to develop high-level performance in the care of individual patients. Initiatives in which learners acquire skill in changing the performance of care systems are also being widely implemented. These trends have received important formal support through recent changes in residency training accreditation standards. Although it is too early to assess the impact of these initiatives or to know whether they will develop further, medical education is unlikely to reach its full potential unless it comes to grips successfully with the challenges of understanding, teaching, and measuring performance.

The concept of a sustainable suburb is defined. A brief historic outline of American suburban development leads to a statement of our current dilemma and future potential. An ecological approach to suburban design based on developing and cycling resources at the site is argued. A design scenario for a hypothetical Milwaukee suburb of 500 households is described. Ecological design ideas for the suburb generated by graduate students in architect are presented. The potential effect of government economics policy in the development of ecological suburbs is discussed

Evil dolphins, the discovery of Viagra, the negotiating tactics of Genghis Khan, words of wisdom from Val Doonican''s mum, how to set up your own cult and a love affair with a crocodile - just some of the stories used to illustrate the principles involved in becoming a negotiation master. Most inexperienced negotiators and many experienced ones believe that, whilst in theory win-win is the best approach, in practice it can be too soft and leaves you open for the other side to take advantage. ...

Full Text Available Stabilisation, as a concept and set of practices, has proliferated over the past two decades and is now implicitly integrated into a range of global frameworks. However, this enthusiasm has at times risked turning this increasingly common, albeit contested, idea into a piece of jargon that discounts its unique facets: a focus on all sorts of violence, not just conflict, that create political instability and human harm and a problem-solving approach that draws selectively on various forms of intervention (e.g., statebuilding, counterinsurgency, peacekeeping, etc. without being beholden to any one toolkit. The pragmatism inherent within the concept of stabilisation will grow increasingly important as new security challenges emerge or proliferate. These include the fragmentation and regionalisation of conflict systems, transnational organised crime, large-scale migration and new, disruptive technologies. Novel approaches rooted in big data and technology will increasingly need to be applied. Most importantly, in foreign policy, military and development communities often driven by perceptions about what causes, ends or prevents violence, stabilisation must maintain its agnostic, problem-solving roots and allegiance to evidence over ideology.

The 21stCentury Truck Program has been established as a government-industry research partnership to support the development and implementation of commercially viable technologies that will dramatically cut fuel use and emissions of commercial trucks and buses while enhancing their safety and affordability as well as maintaining or enhancing performance. The innovations resulting from this program will reduce dependence on foreign oil, improve our nation's air quality, provide advanced technology for military vehicles, and enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. truck and bus industry while ensuring safe and affordable freight and bus transportation for the nation's economy. This Technology Roadmap for the 21stCentury Truck Program has been prepared to guide the development of the technical advancements that will enable the needed improvements in commercial truck fuel economy, emissions, and safety.

In paving the way for a new electricity-based civilization in the 21stcentury, we hope to find the key to solving the trilemma of securing energy and resources, maintaining economic growth, and preserving the environment. In these circumstances, secondary batteries are expected to be used on a large scale in a new field—for energy purposes and to positively affect preservation of the global environment, resulting in the advent of a new battery-based society in the 21stcentury. It is important to develop secondary batteries not only with high specific energy for convenience, but also with large capacity, high energy efficiency and long life cycle for effective use of primary energy resources including natural energy. Lithium secondary batteries are a promising option.

In order to end its dependency on foreign oil supplies, Canada must consider the use of various renewable and non-renewable energy resources. A balanced approach between economic development and environmental stewardship is needed to ensure that Canada reduces its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while continuing to grow. This book discussed the political implications of Canada's oil sands resources, and argued that sustainable development of the resources will help Canada to play a leading role in the transition from a high carbon economy to a a clean energy future. The book was divided into the following 8 chapters: (1) the tyranny of oil, (2) the reluctant superpower, (3) tar sands or oil sands, (4) pollution, emissions, solutions, (5) an obligation of stewardship, (6) the way ahead, (7) the green future, and (8) green oil. 39 refs.

A woman has many important decisions to make once discovering a pregnancy. One of those decisions with significant implications is where the birth will take place. The primary consideration for the majority of pregnant women when making a decision about birth environment is safety. However, other factors such as attitudes of family and friends, religious reasons, and confidence in the body's ability to give birth play a factor in the choice of birth environment. It is recommended that birth attendants use the process of shared decision making to assist pregnant women in making choices related to the birth environment. This process empowers the pregnant woman and provides a woman-centered and evidence-based approach to choices related to obstetrical care. PMID:27465454

Health services are faced with increasing cost pressure, and cost-effectiveness is playing a growing role in decision-making in health care. The three elements of decision-making are the evidence available, the values of the population served, and the other needs of the population. There are different types of values: those of patients, clinicians, health service managers, payers of healthcare, and industry. The sharp distinction between traditional functions in healthcare, such as "allocative efficiency" and "technical efficiency", is increasingly being broken down. The effect of this new approach is the rise of programme budgeting, with healthcare resources being allocated to different programmes of care (for example, mental health programmes), making the consequences of moving resources much clearer. Best current evidence about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is of vital importance in clarifying the opportunities that face people who pay for or manage healthcare. PMID:17711262

Future space missions were hypothesized and analyzed and the energy source for their accomplishment investigated. The mission included manned Mars, scientific outposts to and robotic sample return missions from the outer planets and asteroids, as well as fly-by and rendezvous mission with the Oort Cloud and the nearest star, Alpha Centauri. Space system parametric requirements and operational features were established. The energy means for accomplishing the High Energy Space Mission were investigated. Potential energy options which could provide the propulsion and electric power system and operational requirements were reviewed and evaluated. Fusion energy was considered to be the preferred option and was analyzed in depth. Candidate fusion fuels were evaluated based upon the energy output and neutron flux. Reactors exhibiting a highly efficient use of magnetic fields for space use while at the same time offering efficient coupling to an exhaust propellant or to a direct energy convertor for efficient electrical production were examined. Near term approaches were identified.

Intrusions of magma beneath volcanoes deform the surrounding rock and, if the intrusion is large enough, the overlying ground surface. Numerical models generally agree that, for most eruptions, subsurface volume changes are sufficient to produce measurable deformation at the surface. Studying this deformation can help to determine the location, volume, and shape of a subsurface magma body and thus to anticipate the onset and course of an eruption. This approach has been successfully applied at many restless volcanoes, especially basaltic shields and silicic calderas, using various geodetic techniques and sensors. However, its success at many intermediate-composition strato-volcanoes has been limited by generally long repose intervals, steep terrain, and structural influences that complicate the history and shape of surface deformation. These factors have made it difficult to adequately characterize deformation in space and time at many of the world's dangerous volcanoes. Recent technological advances promise to make this task easier by enabling the acquisition of geodetic data of high spatial and temporal resolution from Earth-orbiting satellites. Synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) can image ground deformation over large areas at metre-scale resolution over time-scales of a month to a few years. Global Positioning System (GPS) stations can provide continuous information on three-dimensional ground displacements at a network of key sites -information that is especially important during volcanic crises. By using InSAR to determine the shape of the displacement field and GPS to monitor temporal changes at key sites, scientists have a much better chance to capture geodetic signals that have so far been elusive at many volcanoes. This approach has the potential to provide longer-term warnings of impending volcanic activity than is possible with other monitoring techniques.

Droughts are becoming the most expensive natural disasters in China and have exerted serious impacts on local economic development and ecological environment. The fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) provides a unique opportunity to assess scientific understanding of climate variability and change over a range of historical and future period. In this study, fine-resolution multimodel climate projections over China are developed based on 7 CMIP5 climate models under RCP8.5 emissions scenarios by means of Bilinear Interpolation and Bias Correction. The results of downscaled CMIP5 models are evaluated over China by comparing the model outputs with the England Reanalysis CRU3.1 from 1951 to 2000. Accordingly, the results from the output of downscaled models are used to calculate the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Time series of SPI has been used to identify drought from 20th century to 21stcentury over China. The results show that, most areas of China are projected to become wetter as a consequence of increasing precipitation under RCP8.5 scenarios. Detailed examination shows that the SPI show a slightly increasing trend in the future period for the most parts of China, but drought in Southwest region of China will become the norm in the future RCP8.5 scenarios.

In "Do You Want Your Students to Be Job-Ready With 21stCentury Skills?" Kivunja (2014a) draws on the work by the Partnership For Teaching 21stCentury Skills (P21) reported by Trilling and Fadel (2009), to articulate that the skills that young people need to succeed as individuals, citizens and workers in the 21stcentury fall into four…

While discussing the current state of stereo head-mounted and 3D projection displays, the authors came to the realization that flat-panel LCD displays offer higher resolution than projection for stereo display at a low (and continually dropping) cost. More specifically, where head-mounted displays of moderate resolution and field-of-view cost tens of thousands of dollars, we can achieve an angular resolution approaching that of the human eye with a field-of-view (FOV) greater than 90° for less than $1500. For many immersive applications head tracking is unnecessary and sometimes even undesirable, and a low cost/high quality wide FOV display may significantly increase the application space for 3D display. After outlining the problem and potential of this solution we describe the initial construction of a simple Wheatstone stereoscope using 24" LCD displays and then show engineering improvements that increase the FOV and usability of the system. The applicability of a high-immersion, high-resolution display for art, entertainment, and simulation is presented along with a content production system that utilizes the capabilities of the system. We then discuss the potential use of the system for VR pain control therapy, treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders and other serious games applications.

Full Text Available Vaccination provides many health and economic benefits to individuals and society, and public support for immunization programs is generally high. However, the benefits of vaccines are often not fully valued when public discussions on vaccine safety, quality or efficacy arise, and the spread of misinformation via the internet and other media has the potential to undermine immunization programs. Factors associated with improved public confidence in vaccines include evidence-based decision-making procedures and recommendations, controlled processes for licensing and monitoring vaccine safety and effectiveness and disease surveillance. Community engagement with appropriate communication approaches for each audience is a key factor in building trust in vaccines. Vaccine safety/quality issues should be handled rapidly and transparently by informing and involving those most affected and those concerned with public health in effective ways. Openness and transparency in the exchange of information between industry and other stakeholders is also important. To maximize the safety of vaccines, and thus sustain trust in vaccines, partnerships are needed between public health sector stakeholders. Vaccine confidence can be improved through collaborations that ensure high vaccine uptake rates and that inform the public and other stakeholders of the benefits of vaccines and how vaccine safety is constantly assessed, assured and communicated.

Writing, reviewing, and selecting the proposals which are to define the science program of any state-of-the-art observatory/space mission are all tasks which have grown in complexity, and as a consequence large amounts of time and effort are currently being invested in this process by proposers as well as reviewers. Viewed from the opposite vantage point, the currently used solicitation and selection process is a significant operational expense: mailing paper copies of proposals and gathering reviewers for panel meetings and a 'time allocation committee' involves a large amount of logistical support and time by the observatory staff. Finally, the batching of proposals into yearly cycles increases the time form concept of a scientific idea to receipt of actual data which decreases the ability to respond to new scientific developments and also increases the general operational overhead of handling a large batch of observations. In this paper we explore two experimental steps towards an optimal proposal selection process: streamlining the current process via 'paperless' and 'groupware' technologies, and use of a 'steady state' process which accepts submission of the reviews proposals continuously. The pros and cons of each approach are examined and we demonstrate that not only are the enabling technologies available, but when resources are considered in a global manner we can identify both major improvements to the current process and significant reductions in the expenditure of resources.

Full Text Available A review of the history of medicine was conducted in order to evaluate the evolution of “diagnosis” and it was concluded that it was firstly defined by Hippocrates almost two thousand and five hundred years ago. The evolution of the concept is analyzed according to the scientific developments of each epoch. Different methods and their stages to obtain a diagnose are exposed. Similarities of the scientific and clinical methods are analyzed, as a necessary procedure for a good medical diagnosis. Different forms of doctor patient relationship are described, as an essential step for an accurate diagnosis. Medicine is approached as a totally uncertain, probabilistic science aimed to a final diagnosis. It is also emphasized that scientific and technological development bring us adequate tools for taking better decisions in order to facilitate medical diagnosis and its confrontation, not only in a single patient but in the analysis of its effectiveness in groups and communities. Basic pieces of advice are provided on how to obtain diagnoses in daily medical practice. Finally, two patterns in medical procedures are exposed: the Galenic and the Hippocratic.

Back in the 1990s, computer engineer and Wall Street "quant" were the hot occupations in business. Today data scientists are the hires firms are competing to make. As companies wrestle with unprecedented volumes and types of information, demand for these experts has raced well ahead of supply. Indeed, Greylock Partners, the VC firm that backed Facebook and LinkedIn, is so worried about the shortage of data scientists that it has a recruiting team dedicated to channeling them to the businesses in its portfolio. Data scientists are the key to realizing the opportunities presented by big data. They bring structure to it, find compelling patterns in it, and advise executives on the implications for products, processes, and decisions. They find the story buried in the data and communicate it. And they don't just deliver reports: They get at the questions at the heart of problems and devise creative approaches to them. One data scientist who was studying a fraud problem, for example, realized it was analogous to a type of DNA sequencing problem. Bringing those disparate worlds together, he crafted a solution that dramatically reduced fraud losses. In this article, Harvard Business School's Davenport and Greylock's Patil take a deep dive on what organizations need to know about data scientists: where to look for them, how to attract and develop them, and how to spot a great one. PMID:23074866

Strong and shared growth increasingly depend on the capacity of nations to develop, deploy and upgrade the skills of their citizens. Within this context, the following places an emphasis on three focal points for education systems in the 21stcentury. The first focus is on essential skills. The...... second focus is on the effectiveness of impact of education on economic and social outcomes. The third focus is on the dynamic elements of skill formation and skill use....

The topic of this article was inspired by a recent survey, carried out in several Western European countries, with the purpose of ascertaining the public’s expectations regarding the respective countries’ (and Europe’s) economic prospects for the first half of the 21stcentury. The questions were focused upon two chief issues: (1) Europe’s economic future within the context of contemporary global transformations; (2) the viability of the European economic systems. Concerning the former issue,...

Changes in marine net primary productivity and export of particulate organic carbon are projected over the 21stcentury with three global coupled carbon cycle-climate models. These include representations of marine ecosystems and the carbon cycle of different structure and complexity. All three models show a decrease in global mean marine productivity and export production between 7 and 20% by 2100 relative to preindustrial conditions, for the SRES A2 emission scenario. Two different regimes ...

This paper presents an outlook on fertility trends of the population of Vojvodina in the first decade of the 21stcentury, a period that includes the results of the previous two Censuses held in 2002 and 2011. The main concern is identifying determinants of this development process and the dynamics regarding the age model of fertility as well as the way it is manifested in Vojvodina. Methodology of this research relies on evaluating age specific rates, dete...

The article looks at the various aspects of appropriating the Christian traditions by Russian fantasy writing. We show that the Christian tradition has most significantly revealed itself in the genre of fantasy writing which is in high demand among early 21stcentury readers. Both the content and the formal poetics of this tradition have been taken into account here. One of the typical fantasy protagonists is a hero yearning for God, which is a familiar staple of Russian literature. By defaul...

This dissertation is a mixed methods exploratory case study on the implementation of problem-based inquiry. The trend of technological changes have created a wave of global change, brought new understanding of learning, and requires a shift in education to develop and accommodate proficiency in 21stcentury skills and competencies. As a result, in many countries, including the United States, the push to benchmark educational standards is in place to prepare students for success in college and...

Abstract Over the past decade technological advances in the realm of ultrasound have allowed what was once a cumbersome and large machine to become essentially hand-held. This coupled with a greater understanding of lung sonography has revolutionized our bedside assessment of patients. Using ultrasound not as a diagnostic test, but instead as a component of the physical exam, may allow it to become the stethoscope of the 21stcentury.

In this paper in attempt has been made to propose some strategic measures which are important for the survival of financial institutions in the 21stcentury. The study points out that liberalization and globalization offered many opportunities to financial institutions to provide wider range of financial and adviser services for their management. The study stressed that banks and NBFIs in Pakistan must used the modern communication, human resource management should be strengthen, SMEs, rural ...

Assessing the ICT competency among Postgraduate students in the Higher Learning Institutions (HLI) is crucial. Therefore this paper presents in detail the process of developing an instrument to assess the competency in ICT which is called ICTC-Test (Information Communication Technology Competency Test). The details are on the utilization of the seven domains in the 21stCentury ICT Competency Model to determine the competency level among students. The development of the items in ICTC-Test is ...

It is most important that students in higher education receive adequate education for productive work and scholarship in the technological information environment of the 21stcentury. Changes in the workforce, a knowledge-based economy, virtual environments, life-long learning and related factors are changing the climate within higher education around the world. Students must be prepared throughout their tenure in higher education to become productive employees and life long learners. One ver...

Following the pattern of the first volume, the second volume of Libraries in the early 21stcentury: An international perspective extends the range of countries covered. Each chapter covers a different country and describes the modern history, development of libraries and library technology. The careful selection of countries achieves good representation of professional library work on all continents.This two-volume work represents an excellent contribution to international librarianship and allows comparative studies both at graduate and professional level.

It is widely expected that global emissions of atmospheric aerosols and their precursors will decrease strongly throughout the remainder of the 21stcentury, due to emission reduction policies enacted to protect human health. For instance, global emissions of aerosols and their precursors are projected to decrease by as much as 80% by the year 2100, according to the four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) sce...

This report sums up the conference ''Energy use and sustainable development in the 21stcentury - Local action and national strategies'' that was held in Oslo in 1999. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate the development of climate- and energy strategies and actions that support a sustainable use of energy locally and regionally. The report discusses important points from the various contributions and from the workshops of the conference.

Observations show a stabilization or a weak increase of the stratospheric ozone layer since the late 1990s. Recent coupled chemistry-climate model simulations predicted that the stratospheric ozone layer will likely return to pre-1980 levels in the middle of the 21stcentury, as a results of the decline of ozone depleting substances under the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Since the ozone layer is an important component in determining stratospheric and tropospheric-surface energy balance, the recove...

Recent simulations predicted that the stratospheric ozone layer will likely return to pre-1980 levels in the middle of the 21stcentury, as a result of the decline of ozone depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol. Since the ozone layer is an important component in determining stratospheric and tropospheric-surface energy balance, the recovery of stratospheric ozone may have significant impact on tropospheric-surface climate. Here, using multi-model results from both the Intergovernme...

Transformational learning is the focus of 21stcentury global educational reforms. In India there is a need to amalgamate the skills and knowledge of medical, nursing and public health practitioners and to develop robust leadership competencies among them. This initiative proposed to identify interdisciplinary leadership competencies among Indian health practitioners, and to develop a training program for interdisciplinary leadership skills through an Innovation Collaborative. Medical, nur...

The present study aimed at investigating the possible significant effects of project-based instruction on the improvement of Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ awareness of 21stcentury skills. To this end, the sample population was selected from Iranian intermediate learners studying at Zabansara Language School, Mashhad, Iran. Therefore, 50 male and female students were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups, 25 in each. For collecting the quantitative data for the study, a 21...

The ocean is a substantial source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere, but little is known on how this flux might change in the future. Here, we investigate the potential evolution of marine N2O emissions in the 21stcentury in response to anthropogenic climate change using the global ocean biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES. We implemented two different parameterizations of N2O production, which differ primarily at low oxygen (O2) conditions. When forced with outp...

American internal medicine suffers a confusion of identity as we enter the 21stcentury. The subspecialties prosper, although unevenly, and retain varying degrees of connection to their internal medicine roots. General internal medicine, identified with primary care since the 1970s, retains an affinity for its traditional consultant-generalist ideal even as primary care further displaces that ideal. We discuss the origins and importance of the consultant-generalist ideal of internal medicine ...

Full Text Available Abstract Over the past decade technological advances in the realm of ultrasound have allowed what was once a cumbersome and large machine to become essentially hand-held. This coupled with a greater understanding of lung sonography has revolutionized our bedside assessment of patients. Using ultrasound not as a diagnostic test, but instead as a component of the physical exam, may allow it to become the stethoscope of the 21stcentury.

Powerful trends in technology, policy environments, financing, and business models are driving change in power sectors globally. In light of these trends, the question is no longer whether power systems will be transformed, but rather how these transformations will occur. Power Systems of the Future, a thought leadership report from the 21stCentury Power Partnership, explores these pathways explores actions that policymakers and regulators can take to encourage desired power system outcomes.

The 21stcentury shows an increase in the number of women occupying leadership positions. The challenge is: How do they lead in a context which is still male dominated? Often female leaders simply try to copy the male leadership style they are familiar with. But sometimes, in doing so, they lose their femininity and the organisation misses out on the specific opportunities of female leadership. One aim of this article is to discuss the opportunities and strengths of a female leadership style ...

This writing explores some of the challenges educators of deaf children are facing in classrooms across America. The 21stcentury has brought unprecedented levels of diversity to classrooms and deaf students are not immune to this phenomenon. Social learning is at a premium as students face challenges in their overall development. The identification of these challenges is followed by a discussion of innovative instructional methods such as : scaffolding, cooperative learning, and inquiry-base...

The aim of this paper is to discus the changes that confronting our society. The modernity is perceived like an expression of man's control over himself and over nature through reason in a desire for unlimited expansion, therefore implying that growth could be infinite. Consequently, the new logics of the 21stcentury concern the globalisation of trade and the issues of sustainable development and social responsibility.

A recently developed technique for simulating large [O(104)] numbers of tropical cyclones in climate states described by global gridded data is applied to simulations of historical and future climate states simulated by six Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) global climate models. Tropical cyclones downscaled from the climate of the period 1950–2005 are compared with those of the 21stcentury in simulations that stipulate that the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases increases...

This thesis explores projected mid-21stcentury changes to surface hydrological fluxes and states in the Los Angeles region at 2km resolution. This work quantifies and describes potential impacts of climate change to precipitation, runoff, evapotranspiration and soil column moisture content in the Los Angeles region. Little previous research has focused on the impacts of climate change to water resources and surface hydrology in this region. We simulate detailed climatologies of surface hydro...

Soil degradation and erosion will be influenced during the 21stcentury both by climate and related or anthropogenic land use changes. Many current negative impacts of soil erosion may thus be amplified, and as certain soil thresholds are exceeded, potentially new and different problems could arise. Soils in the Mediterranean environment may be particularly vulnerable to such global changes because of contrasted climate, low vegetation cover and specific poor soil characteristics. It is there...

This paper presents a summary of proposals and new learning scenarios for the 21stcentury related to the theme of “Education, Culture and Technology”. These proposals and scenarios are based on the work conducted in 2014 by a group of experts from Andorra, Catalonia, the United States and the United Kingdom during the International Forum on Education and Technology (FIET) held in Tarragona, Spain. The main aim of this work is to analyze the interconnection between education and culture throu...

Under projections of global climate change and other stressors, significant changes in the ecology, structure and function of coral reefs are predicted. Current management strategies tend to look to the past to set goals, focusing on halting declines and restoring baseline conditions. Here, we explore a complementary approach to decision making that is based on the anticipation of future changes in ecosystem state, function and services. Reviewing the existing literature and utilizing a scenario planning approach, we explore how the structure of coral reef communities might change in the future in response to global climate change and overfishing. We incorporate uncertainties in our predictions by considering heterogeneity in reef types in relation to structural complexity and primary productivity. We examine 14 ecosystem services provided by reefs, and rate their sensitivity to a range of future scenarios and management options. Our predictions suggest that the efficacy of management is highly dependent on biophysical characteristics and reef state. Reserves are currently widely used and are predicted to remain effective for reefs with high structural complexity. However, when complexity is lost, maximizing service provision requires a broader portfolio of management approaches, including the provision of artificial complexity, coral restoration, fish aggregation devices and herbivore management. Increased use of such management tools will require capacity building and technique refinement and we therefore conclude that diversification of our management toolbox should be considered urgently to prepare for the challenges of managing reefs into the 21stcentury. PMID:25179273

Full Text Available Recently, technology has become an educational necessity in global-digital era. Facing these phenomena, social studies (SS should make innovations related to changes of 21st-century skills and learning paradigm, which is characterized by the principles of disclosure of information, computing, automation, and communication. Technology integration into SS learning is one of the learning innovations in the global-digital era, and powerfully supports the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS as stated in their visions: meaningful, powerful, value-based, challenging, and active. It also strongly supports the development of three core skills of the 21st-century, including learning and innovation skills; information, media and technology skills; life and career skills that developed in partnership with the Partnership Forum for 21st-Century Skills (P21. This paper examines and describes academics evolution toward a commitment and further developments in research; 21stcentury skills map for the SS; and the implications for developing teachers’ competences and teachers’ education curriculum.

Challenges and corresponding strategies for Chinas petroleum refining industry in 21stcentury were described in this paper. Entering 21stcentury, many countries put more concerns on environmental protection and the possibility of continual development. Production of clean fuel with low sulfur, low olefin and low aromatics to reduce toxic material emission, clean production and free-toxic emission and development of environmental friendly products and technologies will be the main themes of worlds refining industry. The challenges faced by Chinas petroleum refining industry are those from inadequate crude sources, from plant scale and its economic benefit, from processing configuration and product structure, from inferior crude and high quality products and from environmental protection and sustaining development, etc. As long as china recognizes the development trend of overall refining technology and carry out long term strategy for technological innovation and progress, its petroleum refining industry will definitely undergo a greater development and become more capable in market competition in the 21stcentury.

the world. The safeguards, even where they are fully in force, offer no assurance against theft, seizure or unauthorized acquisition of nuclear material inside the state. The theft of nuclear materials anywhere is a threat to everyone everywhere. The theft of potential bomb material is not just a hypothetical worry, but an ongoing reality. This includes the attempted theft, by a conspiracy of insiders - of 18.5 kg of HEU from a weapons facility in the Urals. It includes nearly a kilogram of HEU in the form of fast reactor fuel pellets seized last year in the Republic of Georgia. It includes 600 grams of HEU found by police in Colombia in April. Authorities still do not know the source, but no Latin American nation has a facility that uses or is capable of producing such material. The IAEA Illicit Trafficking Database has recorded more than 550 reported incidents of trafficking since 1993. The great majority do not involve weapons-usable material, but 16 cases have involved plutonium or enriched uranium. Sixteen cases is a disturbing number, but it also may not tell us what we really need to know: what percentage of the actual thefts do we uncover? But we can considerably narrow the window of vulnerability by strengthening physical protection as we strengthen diversion safeguards. There is now momentum to take more serious action in this area. A May conference in Stockholm called for a comprehensive approach to security of material. The General Conference last month passed a resolution calling on the Agency to review all its programs to enhance security of nuclear material and facilities. Whatever the experts may have recommended before September 11, after September 11, it seems clear that an amended Convention should include a binding commitment to meet high security standards, such as those set out in the IAEA's recommendations, along with a requirement for each nation to report regularly on its procedures, regulations, and standards for securing and accounting for

The major adversary of the development of nuclear power production is public concern brought about the fear of radioactivity and contamination. It is called the nuclear fobia. Other uncertainties of power production is the trap of greenhouse effect causing global warming. The solution to the controversial problems might be sought through the game theory. The results of some modelling using game theory processes imply that the most dangerous scenario for the humanity in long term might be the results of greenhouse effect. This means that nuclear technology presents less danger, and its safety could be increased so that the probability of nuclear accident approaches zero. A new generation of nuclear power plants will be constructed. (R.P.)

Full Text Available Teaching and learning in the 21stcentury aim to produce students proficient in content knowledge, specific abilities, literacy, numeracy, and technology uses. From these 21stcentury skills, soft skills were delineated from these learning outcomes; and defined as intra- and interpersonal skills vital for personal development, social participation, and workplace success. This study has two goals: to determine the perceived extent of integration of 21stcentury-based soft skills in the cognitive-laden dentistry curriculum, and to examine the perceived 21stcentury-based soft skills of the student participants to serve as baseline data for future research. Communication, and relationship and collaboration skills will be critical components to motivate students; in turn, when students are motivated, it will encourage them to think critically and initiate actions toward the achievement of their goals.

Unquestionably, the 20th century was a “European century”, but there are doubts whether the 21stcentury is a European one or not! This depends on Europe itself and the capacity to formulate its role. Obviously, we are in a new stage of Europe. History knows Europe in different stages. It makes no sense to define all periods, but for the influence of the past you may mention some of these on contemporary Europe: - We had the Europe of aristocracy partly until World War I, wh...

Extreme sea levels are likely to increase in the future with an expected accelerated rise in mean sea level and through possible changes in storminess. Society is becoming more vulnerable to extreme sea levels due to considerable growth in human populations and economy at the coastal zone and this is particularly true for Western Australia, the fastest growing Australian state or region. This paper describes a novel approach used to estimate future changes in extreme sea level around the southwest coastline of Western Australia. Probabilities of extreme sea level for the present climate have been estimated using a 60 year hindcast of sea levels. The impact of climate change has been explored by adding a range of mean sea level rise projections to these probabilities. Estimates of possible future changes in recurrence intervals every decade over the 21stcentury are presented, showing that climate change has the potential to significantly reduce current average recurrence intervals and that the amount of reduction varies significantly around the coastline.

WATTec '92 will concentrate on five areas of major importance in today's world: Training and Education - What can be done to meet future needs and ensure that new technology is applied in the workplace? What innovative approaches can be taken to interest young people in careers in science and engineering? Productivity - What is the role of the scientist and engineer in the factory of the future? What must be done by large industries and small manufacturers to compete in the global economy? What innovative steps can be taken to make the most of our nation's resources and advantages while reducing disadvantages relative to others in the global economy? Technology - What are the technologies of the future and how will we use, share, understand and adopt these technologies? And how do we transfer them, not only within an individual business or institution, but to laboratories, educators, and others? How do we extend America's record for inventiveness while improving commercialization and work leadership in the technologies we create? Resources - What are the materials that will shape the world and how will they shape the technical profession in the 21stCentury? How do we make the most of our natural resources, conserving them for best uses while protecting the environment and meeting the demands of international competition? The Nineteenth Annual WATTec Conference and Exhibition will focus on these and related questions in wide-ranging sessions sponsored by more than 40 technical professional societies. Papers within the scope of the Energy Data Base have been processed separately

The purpose of this study is to consider how the 21st-century learning framework reflects principles of creativity. This article provides a qualitative analysis of the Partnership for 21stCentury's (P21) policy documents, with a specific focus on how the principles of creativity, one of the 4Cs (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and…

Full Text Available Architectural design in our current times has tended to generate buildings which, despite their aesthetic qualities, frequently prove static, rigid and intractable. The intense and significant production of architecture around the planet has created a situation whereby modification of the existing building stock is costly, difficult and at times implausible. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century architects began to more seriously question narrow design approaches and in response explored more open, mutable and responsive ways of building. Architects such as Kisho Kurokawa and Cedric Price, in an effort to envision more resilient & robust solutions, explored methods of design and construction which afforded greater user control, modification and customization of environments. As opposed to buildings in which users needed to adapt to environmental constraints, these progressive designers imagined spaces that adjusted to user needs. A significant challenge to these visionaries was a lag between thinking and technology – quite simply construction proved unable to fully address concept. Today the world has changed in dramatic ways, with advancements in technology, expectations of society, and a quest for greater sustainability all driving a push for more agile, adaptable and appropriate Architecture. The present paper critically contemplates the condition of contemporary building design, examines emerging trends, and postulates an innovative model & philosophy for realizing a more responsive, responsible and fitting Architecture for the 21stCentury. While considering historical initiatives, theories and practices, the paper also examines contemporary applications and future possibilities, arguing that many forces hold promise to align in ways before unimaginable. Advancing from the established foundation of Open Building (OB research and practice, and building upon a holistic and inter-connected strategy (Sinclair 2009 for environmental design

available nuclear power development modelling tools. The results of the study will constitute one of the inputs for formulating an INPRO vision on global nuclear energy sustainability in the twenty-first century, together with the results of several other studies currently being carried out in the framework of INPRO's Programme Area B, including the INPRO Collaborative Projects on Global Architecture of Innovative Nuclear Systems based on Thermal and Fast Reactors including a Closed Fuel Cycle (GAINS) and Fuel Cycles for Innovative Nuclear Systems through Integration of Technologies (FINITE), Investigations of the 233U/Th Fuel Cycle (ThFC) and Meeting Energy Needs in the Period of Raw Material Insufficiency during the 21stCentury (RMI)

Reliable estimates of future climate change in the Alps are relevant for large parts of the European society. At the same time, the complex Alpine region poses considerable challenges to climate models, which translate to uncertainties in the climate projections. Against this background, the present study reviews the state-of-knowledge about 21stcentury climate change in the Alps based on existing literature and additional analyses. In particular, it explicitly considers the reliability and uncertainty of climate projections. Results show that besides Alpine temperatures, also precipitation, global radiation, relative humidity, and closely related impacts like floods, droughts, snow cover, and natural hazards will be affected by global warming. Under the A1B emission scenario, about 0.25 °C warming per decade until the mid of the 21stcentury and accelerated 0.36 °C warming per decade in the second half of the century is expected. Warming will probably be associated with changes in the seasonality of precipitation, global radiation, and relative humidity, and more intense precipitation extremes and flooding potential in the colder part of the year. The conditions of currently record breaking warm or hot winter or summer seasons, respectively, may become normal at the end of the 21stcentury, and there is indication for droughts to become more severe in the future. Snow cover is expected to drastically decrease below 1500–2000 m and natural hazards related to glacier and permafrost retreat are expected to become more frequent. Such changes in climatic parameters and related quantities will have considerable impact on ecosystems and society and will challenge their adaptive capabilities. - Highlights: • Warming is expected to accelerate throughout the 21stcentury in the Alpine region. • Seasonal shifts in precipitation, global radiation, and relative humidity are expected. • Precipitation and temperature extremes are expected to intensify. • Snow cover

Reliable estimates of future climate change in the Alps are relevant for large parts of the European society. At the same time, the complex Alpine region poses considerable challenges to climate models, which translate to uncertainties in the climate projections. Against this background, the present study reviews the state-of-knowledge about 21stcentury climate change in the Alps based on existing literature and additional analyses. In particular, it explicitly considers the reliability and uncertainty of climate projections. Results show that besides Alpine temperatures, also precipitation, global radiation, relative humidity, and closely related impacts like floods, droughts, snow cover, and natural hazards will be affected by global warming. Under the A1B emission scenario, about 0.25 °C warming per decade until the mid of the 21stcentury and accelerated 0.36 °C warming per decade in the second half of the century is expected. Warming will probably be associated with changes in the seasonality of precipitation, global radiation, and relative humidity, and more intense precipitation extremes and flooding potential in the colder part of the year. The conditions of currently record breaking warm or hot winter or summer seasons, respectively, may become normal at the end of the 21stcentury, and there is indication for droughts to become more severe in the future. Snow cover is expected to drastically decrease below 1500–2000 m and natural hazards related to glacier and permafrost retreat are expected to become more frequent. Such changes in climatic parameters and related quantities will have considerable impact on ecosystems and society and will challenge their adaptive capabilities. - Highlights: • Warming is expected to accelerate throughout the 21stcentury in the Alpine region. • Seasonal shifts in precipitation, global radiation, and relative humidity are expected. • Precipitation and temperature extremes are expected to intensify. • Snow cover

The 20th century saw accelerated human and economic development, with increased convergence in income, wealth, and living standards around the world. For a large part, owing to the well-entrenched Western-centric linear and siloed industrialization pattern, this positive transformation has also been associated with complex societal challenges at the nexus of agricultural, industrial, and health sectors. Efforts at cross-sectoral policy coherence have been deployed with limited success. To go beyond what has been possible thus far, the whole-of-society (WoS) paradigm for human and economic development proposes a 21stcentury convergence where, instead of the rest (of the world) converging with the West, sectoral and cross-sectoral efforts converge in their single and collective policy and action on a common target of human and economic development. In this paper, we first review and discuss contributions and limitations of policy coherence approaches. We then elaborate the institutional foundation of the WoS paradigm, taking as an anchor the well-established model of polycentric governance that views individuals, and state, market, and community, forming society as part of the same complex adaptive system. Actors within such systems self-organize into nested hierarchies that operate at multiple scales and move toward 21stcentury convergence of human and economic development. PMID:25146105

This research was conducted to study the development of 21stcentury communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills of students at the high school level through the use of online social network tools. The importance of this study was based on evidence high school and college students are not graduating with the requisite skills of communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills yet employers see these skills important to the success of their employees. The challenge addressed through this study was how high schools can integrate social network tools into traditional learning environments to foster the development of these 21stcentury skills. A qualitative research study was completed through the use of case study. One high school class in a suburban high performing town in Connecticut was selected as the research site and the sample population of eleven student participants engaged in two sets of interviews and learned through the use social network tools for one semester of the school year. The primary social network tools used were Facebook, Diigo, Google Sites, Google Docs, and Twitter. The data collected and analyzed partially supported the transfer of the theory of connectivism at the high school level. The students actively engaged in collaborative learning and research. Key results indicated a heightened engagement in learning, the development of collaborative learning and research skills, and a greater understanding of how to use social network tools for effective public communication. The use of social network tools with high school students was a positive experience that led to an increased awareness of the students as to the benefits social network tools have as a learning tool. The data supported the continued use of social network tools to develop 21stcentury communication, collaboration, and digital literacy skills. Future research in this area may explore emerging social network tools as well as the long term impact these tools

Full Text Available According to (P21, Partnership for 21stCentury Skills (n.d., unless the gap is bridged between how students learn and how they live, today’s education system will face irrelevance. The way people work and live has been transformed by demographic, economic, political, technological, and informational forces. Schools must adapt to these changing conditions in order to thrive. Students must be equipped to live in a multifaceted, multitasking, technology-driven world. And, regardless of their economic background, we must also ensure that all students have equal access to this new technological world. Collaborative learning theory which is connected to constructivism pedagogy requires students to work together to solve problems. Students need lifelong learning skills i.e., communication and information skills, problem-solving and thinking skills, and interpersonal and self-directional skills. The challenge becomes to deliberately incorporate learning skills into classrooms strategically and broadly. In this digital age, students must learn to use tools essential to everyday life and workplace productivity. They live in a world of almost unlimited streams of profound information, difficult choices and enormous opportunity. Teachers can create a 21stcentury context for learning by taking students out into the world, by bringing the world into the classroom, and by creating opportunities for students to collaboratively interact with each other (Learning for the, n.d.. One way of accomplishing this task is by employing the use of the Internet to connect Web 2.0 technology and 21stcentury skills. These skills are essential due to increased global competition, rising workforce capabilities, and accelerated technological change (Learning for the, n.d..

This paper aims at presenting a research that analyzed features of studies published on the main Brazilian journals of Accounting in the 21stCentury. The data were collected from 2,334 papers published in the 17 main Brazilian journals in according to Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Primarily, those papers had examined using the content analysis and organized in predefined categories. After that, the data were analyzed using the following techniques: c...

The diploma thesis aims to discourse how China´s competitiveness has developed in the 21stcentury, with a special focus on human capital as one of the key factors of production that greatly fosters competitive advantage. The first chapter builds up a theoretical framework for the research part of the thesis. It reviews the concepts of competitiveness, Michael Porter´s diamond, and the theory of human capital. The second chapter examines trends and challenges of China´s competitive advantage ...

The importance of energy sources which started to become the most strategic input for the countries in the 20th century gradually increases. De-spite of the increase of demand and dependence to the energy at this ratio, energy resources speedily decrease. This situation caused that all the atten-tions focused on energy regions. Middle East is one of the most important of these regions. Within this framework, this study aims to explain the impor-tance of Middle East energy sources of 21st cent...

Abstracts of the 9th International Frumkin symposium: Electrochemical technologies and materials for 21stcentury are presented. The symposium was held 24-29 October 2010 in Moscow. The symposium included the following microsymposiums: Electrical double layer and electrochemical kinetics (from phenomenological to molecular level); New processes, materials and devices for successful electrochemical transformation of energy; Corrosion and protection of materials; General and local corrosion; Electroactive composition materials; Bioelectrochemistry. The Frumkin symposium includes plenary lectures, oral and poster presentations. Official language of the symposium is English

There is some general concern that economic development in developing countries will hasten global warning. In terms of reducing CO2 emissions, fusion will have great potential as a primary energy in the late 21stcentury according to the results of WING model simulations based on scenario analysis, if the cost of fusion with hydrogen generation would become competitive compared with those of other substitutive energies. However, securing social acceptance is very important to maintain the fossil research funded by the government suffering from cumulative debt. (author)

At KEK-MSL we have been pursuing the Ultra-Slow Muon Project, in which thermal muonium atoms (designated as Mu; consisting of a μ+ and an e-) are generated from the surface of a hot tungsten foil, placed at the primary 500 MeV proton beam line, and ionized by intense lasers synchronized with the emission of Mu. In the 21stcentury, it will be extended to the intense slow-muon facility of M-arena at the JOINT PROJECT of KEK and JAERI, where 3 GeV, 333 μA of proton beam is available, for the surface science, atomic physics, etc. (author)

To date, lunar laser ranging to the Apollo retroreflector arrays, which are still operational after four decades, has produced some of the best tests of General Relativity. Since the ground Observatories have improved their accuracy by a factor of 200, the lunar hardware, due to the lunar librations, now limits the ranging accuracy. The Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector Array for the 21stCentury program plans to deploy new packages that will improve the ranging accuracy by a factor of ten to one hundred in the next few years

elements behind a new philosophy of excellence: 1) better indoor air quality increases productivity and decreases SBS symptoms; 2) unnecessary indoor pollution sources should be avoided; 3) the air should be served cool and dry to the occupants; 4) "personalized air", i.e. a small amount of clean air...... rather low, allowing a substantial group of people to become dissatisfied and to be adversely affected. A paradigm shift from rather mediocre to excellent indoor environments is foreseen in the 21stcentury. Based on existing information and on new research results, five principles are suggested as...

As the world enters the 21stCentury, policy makers around the world are grappling with issues related to energy security, energy poverty, global climate change, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting an expected increase in demand for all energy sources. As a clean burning fuel, many policy leaders have suggested that LNG can play an important role as the world struggles to develop a more environmental sustainable energy future. Others claim that the safety and environmental impact of LNG, including life-cycle emissions, may nullify any clean burning benefit LNG might otherwise provide.

The main public health issue in Madagascar at the beginning of the 21stcentury still involves transmissible infectious diseases including re-emerging diseases such as bubonic plague and emerging diseases such as HIV/AIDS, dengue fever and Chikungunya virus infection. Health and hygiene especially access to clean water is still poor especially in rural areas. No improvement in the public health situation with regard to malaria, schistomosomiais or cysticercosis as well as non-infectious diseases such as protein-energy malnutrition is expected within the next decade. PMID:17506269

for change. This raises the question of whether the Partner ownership and management model is a relic of the past - and the partner a Don Quixote-figure of the 21stcentury corporate world? Based on an ethnographic study of a PSF in Denmark, and data from other sources, the paper analyzes the changing...... the future of the partner role in complex organizations. Finally, the paper proposes that professional partnership needs to find a ' new balance' between the traditional professional logic of the partners and the still more influential logic of bureaucracy of the modern complex organization to...

Full Text Available The knowledge society is a new social species that, despite many uncertainties and some (old and new ambiguities, is emerging on the horizon of the 21stcentury. Placed at the convergence of two long-term processes (society of individuals and knowledge society, it is characterised by the social-economic process of knowledge circulation, which can be divided into four fundamental phases (generation, institutionalisation, spreading and socialisation. The current situation also sees the traditional (modern structure of knowledge being outdated by the convergence of nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information technologies and neuro-cognitive technologies (NBIC. In the background, the need arises to cross the cultural frontier of modernity.

microclimatic variation could allow species to persist locally, and are ill-suited for assessment of species-specific threat in particular regions. Here, we assess the impacts of climate change on 2632 plant species across all major European mountain ranges, using high-resolution (ca. 100 m) species samples......Continental-scale assessments of 21stcentury global impacts of climate change on biodiversity have forecasted range contractions for many species. These coarse resolution studies are, however, of limited relevance for projecting risks to biodiversity in mountain systems, where pronounced...... that change in precipitation, not only warming, plays an important role in determining the potential impacts of climate change on vegetation....

The following dissertation is a critical review of the issues and questions surrounding the ways in which mental health nurses can best address stigma in the 21stcentury. The work of several key theorists of stigma including Goffman and Link and Phelan are examined and critiqued to provide a clear definition of stigma upon which to base the discussion. The understanding of stigma is used to specifically address the question of how stigma is manifest in wider society and the effect that this ...

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory disease of the pancreas which can lead to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome with significant morbidity and mortality in 20% of patients. Gallstones and alcohol consumption are the most frequent causes of pancreatitis in adults. The treatment of mild acute pancreatitis is conservative and supportive; however severe episodes characterized by necrosis of the pancreatic tissue may require surgical intervention. Advanced understanding of the pathology, and increased interest in assessment of disease severity are the cornerstones of future management strategies of this complex and heterogeneous disease in the 21stcentury.

Market transformations occurring within the health care industry require new patterns of organization and management to meet the increasing complexity of service delivery. A greater understanding of the innovation and entrepreneurial dynamic allows administrators, managers, and leaders to create a new vision of service delivery. Central management and leadership objectives include the development of service technologies that capitalize upon the inherent knowledge of workers to meet consumer needs. A strong sense of innovation and entrepreneurship leading to the introduction of new or improved nursing technologies is a primary component in the evolution of professional nursing practice for the 21stcentury. PMID:9505707

Full Text Available There are many published articles which cover current and future challenges of epidemiology. However, up until now, most of them are written by developed world epidemiologists. Therefore, despite a common use of assumptions, they did not have the opportunity to discuss the different range of practical tasks and priorities away from developed countries. The topics covered are; facing poverty, non-democratic government that has links to developed countries, man-made and natural disasters, handling low-quality data and accessing it, and finally improving contribution to the world epidemiological knowledge for the 21stcentury.

There are many published articles which cover current and future challenges of epidemiology. However, up until now, most of them are written by developed world epidemiologists. Therefore, despite a common use of assumptions, they did not have the opportunity to discuss the different range of practical tasks and priorities away from developed countries. The topics covered are; facing poverty, non-democratic government that has links to developed countries, man-made and natural disasters, handling low-quality data and accessing it, and finally improving contribution to the world epidemiological knowledge for the 21stcentury. PMID:26853284

Geoengineering has been proposed as a feasible way of mitigating anthropogenic climate change, especially increasing global temperatures in the 21stcentury. The two main geoengineering options are limiting incoming solar radiation, or modifying the carbon cycle. Here we examine the impact of five geoengineering approaches on sea level; SO2 aerosol injection into the stratosphere, mirrors in space, afforestation, biochar, and bioenergy with carbon sequestration. Sea level responds mainly at centennial time scales to temperature change, and has been largely driven by anthropogenic forcing since 1850. Making use a model of sea-level rise as a function of time-varying climate forcing factors (solar radiation, volcanism, and greenhouse gas emissions) we find that sea-level rise by 2100 will likely be 30 cm higher than 2000 levels despite all but the most aggressive geoengineering under all except the most stringent greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. The least risky and most desirable way of limiting sea-level rise is bioenergy with carbon sequestration. However aerosol injection or a space mirror system reducing insolation at an accelerating rate of 1 W m-2 per decade from now to 2100 could limit or reduce sea levels. Aerosol injection delivering a constant 4 W m-2 reduction in radiative forcing (similar to a 1991 Pinatubo eruption every 18 months) could delay sea-level rise by 40–80 years. Aerosol injection appears to fail cost-benefit analysis unless it can be maintained continuously, and damage caused by the climate response to the aerosols is less than about 0.6% Global World Product. PMID:20798055

NASA is designing the Ares V as the cargo launch vehicle to carry NASA's exploration plans into the 21stcentury. The Ares V is the heavy-lift component of NASA's dual-launch architecture that will replace the current space shuttle fleet, complete the International Space Station, and establish a permanent human presence on the Moon as a stepping stone to destinations beyond. During extensive independent and internal architecture and vehicle trade studies as part of the Exploration Systems Architecture Study, NASA selected the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Ares V to support future exploration. The smaller Ares I will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle with four to six astronauts into orbit. The Ares V is designed to carry the Altair lunar lander into orbit, rendezvous with Orion, and send the mated spacecraft toward lunar orbit. The Ares V will be the largest and most powerful launch vehicle in history, providing unprecedented payload mass and volume to establish a permanent lunar outpost and explore significantly more of the lunar surface than was done during the Apollo missions. The Ares V also represents a national asset offering opportunities for new science, national security, and commercial missions of unmatched size and scope. Using the dual-launch Earth Orbit Rendezvous approach, the Ares I and Ares V together will be able to inject roughly 57percent more mass to the Moon than the Apollo-era Saturn V. Ares V alone will be able to send nearly 414,000 pounds into low Earth orbit (LEO) or more than 138,000 pounds directly to the Moon, compared with 262,000 pounds and 99,000 pounds, respectively for the Saturn V. Significant progress has been made on the Ares V to support a planned fiscal 2011 authority-to-proceed (ATP) milestone. This paper discusses recent progress on the Ares V and planned future activities.

We present a simple multi-dimensional exhaustive search method to obtain, in a reasonable time, the optimal solution of a nonlinear programming problem. It is more relevant in the present day non-mainframe computing scenario where an estimated 95% computing resources remains unutilized and computing speed touches petaflops. While the processor speed is doubling every 18 months, the band width is doubling every 12 months, and the hard disk space is doubling every 9 months. A randomized search algorithm or, equivalently, an evolutionary search method is often used instead of an exhaustive search algorithm. The reason is that a randomized approach is usually polynomial-time, i.e., fast while an exhaustive search method is exponential-time i.e., slow. We discuss the increasing importance of exhaustive search in optimization with the steady increase of computing power for solving many real-world problems of reasonable size. We also discuss the computational error and complexity of the search algorithm focusing on the fact that no measuring device can usually measure a quantity with an accuracy greater than 0.005%. We stress the fact that the quality of solution of the exhaustive search - a deterministic method - is better than that of randomized search. In 21stcentury computing environment, exhaustive search cannot be left aside as an untouchable and it is not always exponential. We also describe a possible application of these algorithms in improving the efficiency of solar cells - a real hot topic - in the current energy crisis. These algorithms could be excellent tools in the hands of experimentalists and could save not only large amount of time needed for experiments but also could validate the theory against experimental results fast.

Full Text Available Abstract A 70% increase in food production is required over the next four decades to feed an ever-increasing population. The inherent difficulties in achieving this unprecedented increase are exacerbated by the yield-depressing consequences of climate change and variations and by the pressures on food supply by other competing demographic and socioeconomic demands. With the dwindling or stagnant agricultural land and water resources, the sought-after increases will therefore be attained mainly through the enhancement of crop productivity under eco-efficient crop production systems. ‘Smart’ crop varieties that yield more with fewer inputs will be pivotal to success. Plant breeding must be re-oriented in order to generate these ‘smart’ crop varieties. This paper highlights some of the scientific and technological tools that ought to be the staple of all breeding programs. We also make the case that plant breeding must be enabled by adequate policies, including those that spur innovation and investments. To arrest and reverse the worrisome trend of declining capacities for crop improvement, a new generation of plant breeders must also be trained. Equally important, winning partnerships, including public-private sector synergies, are needed for 21stcentury plant breeding to bear fruits. We also urge the adoption of the continuum approach to the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture as means to improved cohesion of the components of its value chain. Compellingly also, the National Agricultural Research and Extension System of developing countries require comprehensive overhauling and strengthening as crop improvement and other interventions require a sustained platform to be effective. The development of a suite of actionable policy interventions to be packaged for assisting countries in developing result-oriented breeding programs is also called for.

Two billion people today live in drylands, where extreme climatic conditions prevail, and natural resources are limited. Drylands are expected to expand under several scenarios of climatic change. However, relevant adaptation strategies need to account for the aridity level: it conditions the equilibrium tree-cover density, ranging from deserts (hyper-arid) to dense savannas (sub-humid). Here we focus on the evolution of climatically defined warm semi-arid areas, where low-tree density covers can be maintained. We study the global repartition of these regions in the future and the bioclimatic shifts involved. We adopted a bioclimatological approach based on the Köppen climate classification. The warm semi-arid class is characterized by mean annual temperatures over 18°C and a rainfall-limitation criterion. A multi-model ensemble of CMIP5 projections for three representative concentration pathways was selected to analyze future conditions. The classification was first applied to the start, middle and end of the 20th and 21stcenturies, in order to localize past and future warm semi-arid regions. Then, time-series for the classification were built to characterize trends and variability in the evolution of those regions. According to the CRU datasets, global expansion of the warm semi-arid area has already started (~+13%), following the global warming trend since the 1900s. This will continue according to all projections, most significantly so outside the tropical belt. Under the "business as usual" scenario, the global warm semi-arid area will increase by 30% and expand 12° poleward in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the multi-model mean. Drying drives the conversion from equatorial sub-humid conditions. Beyond 30° of latitude, cold semi-arid conditions become warm semi-arid through warming, and temperate conditions through combined warming and drying processes. Those various transitions may have drastic but also very distinct ecological and sociological

Increasing greenhouse gases and likely ozone recovery will be the two most important factors influencing changes in stratospheric temperatures in the 21stcentury. The radiative effect of increasing greenhouse gases will cause cooling in the stratosphere, while ozone recovery will lead to stratospheric warming. To investigate how stratospheric temperatures change under the two opposite forcings in the 21stcentury, we use observed ozone and reanalysis data as well as simulation results from four coupled oceanic and atmospheric general circulation models (GISS-ER, GFDL-CM20, NCAR-CCSM3, and UKMO-HadCM3) used in the IPCC (Intergovernment Panel for Climate Change) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Observational analysis shows that total column ozone and lower stratospheric temperatures all show increasing in the past 10 years, while middle stratospheric temperatures demonstrate cooling. IPCC AR4 simulations show that greenhouse forcing alone will lead to stratospheric cooling. However, with forcing of both increasing greenhouse gases and ozone recovery, the middle stratosphere will be cooled, while the lower stratosphere will be warmed. Warming magnitudes vary from one model to another. UKMO-HadCM3 generates relatively strong warming for all three greenhouse scenarios, and warming extends to 40 hPa. GFDL-CM20 and NCAR-CCSM3 produce weak warming, and warming mainly exists at lower levels, below about 60 hPa. In addition, we also discuss the effect of temperature changes on ozone recovery.

COE is an abbreviation of 'Center of Excellence' and the '21stCentury COE Program' is project begun by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MECSST) to make a trigger to grow some research strongholds with international competitive power by activating mutual competition of collages and universities. This program aims to form research and educational strongholds with the highest level in the world at every scholarship fields to a collage or a university in Japan, to intend to grow creative specialists capable of upgrading research level and leading research world, and to progress strong assistance to promote collages- and universities-making with international competitive power and individuality. In 2003 fiscal year, two research programs related to nuclear energy were selected by the Committee of 21stCentury COE Program such as 'an innovative reactor supporting suitable development of the world' in the mechanical, engineering and other technology field and 'future to be cultivated by isotopes' in the interdisciplinary, composite and new region field. The first program aims to construct the concept of system of innovative reactor and separation nuclear transformation for zero release of radioactive waste and to research the necessary technologies. The second program is covered isotope science and it consists of two main researches such as 1) the fundamental researches: a) separation and creation of isotopes, b) measurement technologies with nano size and c) isotope materials, and 2) the harmonized development researches: a) environment and bioscience and b) culture information and creation of quantum computer. (S.Y.)

Recent advances in biological and computational technologies are changing the way different social groups imagine race, gender, kinship, citizenship and disease risk. Existing taxonomies are being displaced or reconfigured, impacting the ways in which people are governed, how lives are lived, how groups are known and how power is exercised. Herein we report on a two-day international symposium that we co-organized, titled 'The molecularization of identity: science and subjectivity in the 21stcentury,' that was held on 29-30 April 2016 at the Program on Science, Technology and Society, at Harvard University. The symposium drew upon the tools and expertise from multiple disciplines and diverse geographical regions and consisted of 24 original research presentations and an interdisciplinary roundtable. Specific attention was paid to the bioethical, material and lived dimensions of recent developments in molecular technologies, and discussions interrogated the complex ways in which the 'molecular realm' is an emerging site for constituting human identities in the 21stcentury. Herein we summarize some of the key findings of the conference and raise three further issues for practitioners and researchers to consider in relation to the broader impact of genetics research. Namely: transnational governance of emerging biotechnologies; representation of different interest groups in policy decisions; and rights of access to emerging technologies. PMID:27376979

Energy experts project that global oil supplies will only meet demand until global oil production has peaked sometime between 2013 and 2020. Declining oil production after peak production will cause a global energy gap to develop, which will have to be bridged by unconventional and renewable energy sources. Nuclear, solar and hydrogen are destined to become major energy sources during the 21stcentury, but only if their enabling technologies improve significantly to ensure affordability and convenience of use. This paper will argue that global oil production will probably peak between 2004 and 2005, causing a serious energy gap to develop sometime between 2008 and 2010 rather than 2013-2020 as the energy experts projected. It will also argue that a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is inevitable. The paper will conclude, however, that fossil fuels with a growing contribution from nuclear energy, will still be supplying the major part of the global energy needs for most, perhaps all, of the 21stcentury. (author)

All chemistry-climate models predict that 1) the TTL warms during the 21stcentury and 2) that the humidity of air entering the stratosphere increases over this same period. It seems reasonable to conclude that the former causes the latter, but to our knowledge no one has actually tested that. We do so here by analyzing one chemistry-climate model in detail (the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry Climate Model, GEOSCCM) and find that the warming of the TTL explains only a fraction of the increase in humidity of air entering the stratosphere. We do this by using meteorological fields from the model to drive a trajectory model, which estimates the water vapor variations in response to the large-scale temperature field. Water vapor simulated by the trajectory model increases by about one quarter of the amount it increases in the GEOSCCM. We conclude that, over the 21stcentury, an increase in the flux of ice through the TTL is responsible for most of the increase in the humidity of air entering the stratosphere in this model.

We investigate the potential impact of climate change on water availability in central Belgium. Two water balance components being precipitation and potential evapotranspiration are initially projected for the late 21stcentury (2071-2100) based on 30 Coupled Models Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) models relative to a baseline period of 1961-1990, assuming forcing by four representative concentration pathway emission scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, RCP8.5). The future available water is then estimated as the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration projections. The number of wet days and mean monthly precipitation for summer season is projected to decrease in most of the scenarios, while the projections show an increase in those variables for the winter months. Potential evapotranspiration is expected to increase during both winter and summer seasons. The results show a decrease in water availability for summer and an increase for winter, suggesting drier summers and wetter winters for the late 21stcentury in central Belgium.

Full Text Available The latest four decades have marked by their width, speed and radicality a true “revolution” on the financial market, a transformation and restructuring of financial services, of financial instruments which were used, of transaction systems, but also of competitive processes. The importance that should be given to such transformations of financial systems is given, as well, by their impact, both at the micro- and at the macro- levels, on the economy as a whole.The evolution of the European financial market at the beginning of the 21stcentury has followed the general trend of global markets. As a main tendency of financial market restructuring at the European level we should keep in mind the fact that there was an opening towards private financing according to the American model, due to the necessity to attract international capital resources, a process which is still ongoing.The integration of the European financial markets at the beginning of the 21stcentury follows the general process of financial globalization which develops rapidly on several structures of financial systems.

Based on the simulations from CMIP5 models, using climate indices which have high correlation with historical disaster data, and in combination with terrain elevation data and the socio-economic data, to project the flooding disaster risk, the vulnerability of flooding hazard affected body and the risk of flooding hazard respectively during the near term(2015-2039), medium term(2045-2069) and long term(2075-2099) under RCP8.5. According to the IPCC AR5 WGII, we used risk evaluation model of disaster: R=E*H*V. R on behalf of disaster risk index. H, E and V express risk, exposure and vulnerability respectively. The results show that the extreme flooding disaster risk will gradually increase during different terms in the future, and regions with high risk level of flooding hazard are might mainly located in southeastern and eastern China. Under the RCP8.5 greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the high risk of flooding disaster in future might mainly appear in eastern part of Sichuan, most of North China, and major of East China. Compared with the baseline period,21stcentury forward, although the occurrence of floods area changes little, the regional strong risk will increase during the end of the 21stcentury. Due to the coarse resolution of climate models and the methodology for determining weight coefficients, large uncertainty still exists in the projection of the flooding disaster risk.

A recently developed technique for simulating large [O(10(4))] numbers of tropical cyclones in climate states described by global gridded data is applied to simulations of historical and future climate states simulated by six Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) global climate models. Tropical cyclones downscaled from the climate of the period 1950-2005 are compared with those of the 21stcentury in simulations that stipulate that the radiative forcing from greenhouse gases increases by over preindustrial values. In contrast to storms that appear explicitly in most global models, the frequency of downscaled tropical cyclones increases during the 21stcentury in most locations. The intensity of such storms, as measured by their maximum wind speeds, also increases, in agreement with previous results. Increases in tropical cyclone activity are most prominent in the western North Pacific, but are evident in other regions except for the southwestern Pacific. The increased frequency of events is consistent with increases in a genesis potential index based on monthly mean global model output. These results are compared and contrasted with other inferences concerning the effect of global warming on tropical cyclones. PMID:23836646

In the spring of 2009, I participated in PolarTREC - Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a Teacher Research Experience (TRE) funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. I assisted in hands-on research being performed by scientists with OASIS (Ocean, Atmosphere, Sea Ice and Snowpack) during their field campaign in Barrow, Alaska. Although I was in the field for only 3 weeks, it was merely a beginning to a transformation that took place not only in me, but also among all of those involved. The PolarTREC program embodies the principles fundamental to the 21stCentury skill-set that we want our students to possess. The job market is changing for graduates, and education is striving to provide students with the skills necessary to thrive in the future. To ensure the success of students the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) has defined 21stCentury Skills. They are incorporated into many educational standards (such as the Arizona Educational Technology Standards) and they are practiced by the teachers, researchers, students and the PolarTREC community. They are: Creativity and Innovation Communication and Collaboration Research and Information Literacy Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Digital Citizenship Technology Operations and Concepts

An approach to ground thermodynamics description using a coupled system of atmospheric regional climate and ground heat transfer models is improved by accounting for the time varying snow density. The simulations are compared to available observational analyses, and the sensitivity of the ground thermal regime to variable snow density is analysed. Projected changes of the ground thermal regime in the 21stcentury relative to the late 20th century are shown and compared to earlier estimates.

An approach to ground thermodynamics description using a coupled system of atmospheric regional climate and ground heat transfer models is improved by accounting for the time varying snow density. The simulations are compared to available observational analyses, and the sensitivity of the ground thermal regime to variable snow density is analysed. Projected changes of the ground thermal regime in the 21stcentury relative to the late 20th century are shown and compared to earlier estimates.

Time recovery of the ozone layer in the latitudinal zones of 0°-85° N, 0°-30° N, 30°-60° N and 60°-85° N in the 21stcentury has been evaluated. Evaluations have been made using an interactive chemical dynamical radiative two-dimensional (2-D) model of the middle atmosphere Socrates (height 0-120 km). As initial data for calculations for the first time the greenhouse gas concentration scenarios of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0 have been used. According to the scenario RCP 4.5 a stabilization of the radiative forcing must occur before the end of the twenty-first century, and according to the scenario RCP 6.0 - in the 22nd century. It has been shown that under both scenarios, the recovery of the ozone layer in the northern hemisphere (0°-85° N) can take place in 2035, and in zones of 0°-30° N, 30°-60° N and 60°-85° N does in 2020, 2030 and 2035, respectively. It has been also shown that after recovery the ozone layer will continue to grow and by the end of the 21stcentury will reach the stationary level exceeding undisturbed level of 1960 at 2.7% (scenario RCP 4.5) and 3.6% (scenario RCP 6.0) in zone 0°-85° N. It seems to be not smaller ecological threat than depletion of the ozone layer at the end of the twentieth century. The results obtained are in good agreement with the known literary data (see, for example, Table 3-3 in "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2010"), indicating that the model Socrates and "concentration" scenarios of IPCC can successfully be used for such calculations.

The simulated precipitation for the 20-th and 21-stcenturies at 10 stations from the Danube middle and lower basin are analysed together with the daily pressure values at sea level from March, April, May for 42 years obtained from the four GCMs (CNRM, ECHAM5-MPI, EGMAM and IPSL). For the 20-th century the period 1958-1999 was considered and for the 21-stcentury 2 periods of 42 years were selected: 2009-2050 and 2051-2092 from the A1B scenario. In the pressure field, the predictors from three key zones were selected as being significant for the precipitation behavior from the Danube middle and lower basin. A nonhomogeneus hidden Markov model (NHMM) with 7 states was applied for the precipitation from 10 stations, for observations and also for each of the considered scenarios, with 3 predictors defined in the key points. The precipitation values were corrected by bias and the predictors were the same for all models, calculated from pressure values corrected by bias. After the modelling of the daily precipitation through a NHMM, a simulation was done on 100 achievements each one with 42 years and 90 days each year. In this way, the daily maximum precipitation amounts during spring from 4200 years were selected. This simulation was necessary in order to increase the statistical selection volume necessary within the modelling through distribution of the extreme values. From these precipitation simulated with NHMM for 4200 years, the maximum daily amounts during spring were selected and then modelled with a generalized distribution of the extreme values (GEV). For the modelling by generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) the daily precipitation values which exceed a certain threshold were selected. After testing several thresholds values, it was concluded that the most adequate is the 50 mm threshold for each of the 10 considered stations. Also it was made an average of the precipitation on the 10 considered stations and from the analysis of the different thresholds it

Full Text Available Abstract The Green Revolution was accomplished under a set of demographic, economic, climatic and other conditions in the 20th century that have been changing and will surely be different and more difficult in the decades ahead. The suitability and sustainability of any given agricultural technology depends on factors like resource availability and productivity, energy costs, and environmental constraints. The achievements of Green Revolution technologies in the 1960s and 1970s came at a critical time of impending food shortages, and the world’s people would be worse off without them. However, the rate of yield improvement for cereal production has been slowing since the mid-1980s. Looking ahead at the foreseeable circumstances under which 21stcentury agricultural producers must try to assure food security, there will be need for technologies that are less dependent on resources that are becoming relatively scarcer, like arable land and water, or becoming relatively more costly, like energy and petrochemical-based inputs. This paper considers agroecologically-based innovations that reduce farmers’ dependence on external inputs, relying more on endogenous processes and existing potentials in plants and soil systems. Such resource-conserving production represents a different approach to meeting food security goals. While these innovations are not yet fully understood and are still being researched, there are good agronomic reasons to account for their effectiveness, and scientific validations are accumulating. Enough successes have been recorded from making changes in the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients that more attention from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners is warranted, especially given the need to adapt to, and to mitigate the effects of, climate change. The same agroecological concepts and management methods that are enhancing factor productivity in rice production are giving similar results with other crops

We assess potential changes in crop water requirements and corresponding yields relative to the late 20th century in major crop producing regions of the world by using the Community Land Model (CLM) driven with 21stcentury meteorology from RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 Community Earth System Model (CESM) simulations. The RCP4.5 simulation allows us to explore the potential for averted societal impacts when compared to the RCP8.5 simulation. We consider the possibility for increased yields and improved water use efficiency under conditions of elevated atmospheric CO2 due to the CO2 fertilization effect (also known as concentration-carbon feedback). We address uncertainty in the current understanding of plant CO2 fertilization by repeating the simulations with and without the CO2 fertilization effect. Simulations without CO2 fertilization represent the radiative effect of elevated CO2 (i.e., warming) without representing the physiological effect of elevated CO2 (enhanced carbon uptake and increased water use efficiency by plants during photosynthesis). Preliminary results suggest that some plants may suffer from increasing heat and drought in much of the world without the CO2 fertilization effect. On the other hand plants (especially C3) tend to grow more with less water when models include the CO2 fertilization effect. Performing 21stcentury simulations with and without the CO2 fertilization effect brackets the potential range of outcomes. In this work we use the CLM crop model, which includes specific crop types that differ from the model's default plant functional types in that the crops get planted, harvested, and potentially fertilized and irrigated according to algorithms that attempt to capture human management decisions. We use an updated version of the CLM4.5 that includes cotton, rice, and sugarcane, spring wheat, spring barley, and spring rye, as well as temperate and tropical maize and soybean.

Projections of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sea ice habitat distribution in the polar basin during the 21stcentury were developed to understand the consequences of anticipated sea ice reductions on polar bear populations. We used location data from satellitecollared polar bears and environmental data (e.g., bathymetry, distance to coastlines, and sea ice) collected from 1985 to 1995 to build resource selection functions (RSFs). RSFs described habitats that polar bears preferred in summer, autumn, winter, and spring. When applied to independent data from 1996 to 2006, the RSFs consistently identified habitats most frequently used by polar bears. We applied the RSFs to monthly maps of 21st-century sea ice concentration projected by 10 general circulation models (GCMs) used in the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, under the A1B greenhouse gas forcing scenario. Despite variation in their projections, all GCMs indicated habitat losses in the polar basin during the 21stcentury. Losses in the highest-valued RSF habitat (optimal habitat) were greatest in the southern seas of the polar basin, especially the Chukchi and Barents seas, and least along the Arctic Ocean shores of Banks Island to northern Greenland. Mean loss of optimal polar bear habitat was greatest during summer; from an observed 1.0 million km2 in 1985-1995 (baseline) to a projected multi-model mean of 0.32 million km2 in 2090-2099 (-68% change). Projected winter losses of polar bear habitat were less: from 1.7 million km2 in 1985-1995 to 1.4 million km2 in 2090-2099 (-17% change). Habitat losses based on GCM multi-model means may be conservative; simulated rates of habitat loss during 1985-2006 from many GCMs were less than the actual observed rates of loss. Although a reduction in the total amount of optimal habitat will likely reduce polar bear populations, exact relationships between habitat losses and population demographics remain unknown. Density and energetic

We evaluate the representation of the 20th century Northern Hemisphere, North American, and Eurasian snow cover extent, frequency, and mass by the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled climate model, version 2 (CM2) and then explore the 21stcentury trends and changes in these quantities. The CM2 simulations of 20th century climate capture the seasonal cycle in Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent and produce a mean annual snow area of 25 × 106 km2 that equals the satellite-based observations for the period 1973-2000. The simulated snow cover frequency and snow mass generally decline from north to south, but longitudinal gradients in these variables are also found. Snow mass over North America, especially during spring, is underestimated by CM2. Simulations of 21stcentury climate using three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios reveal strong trends in Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent, frequency, and mass. These simulations suggest that the annual Northern Hemisphere mean snow cover extent (total snow mass) will decrease by 12 to 26% (20 to 40%) by 2100 from their 21stcentury mean values. Large declines in 21stcentury snow cover frequency (up to 50%) and snow mass (up to 100 kg m-2) arise during fall, winter, and spring over southern Canada and the northern United States, the Western Cordillera of North America, and western Eurasia compared to the 20th century CM2 simulations.

There are many challenges facing the health system in the 21stcentury – the majority of which are related to managing demand for health services. To meet these challenges emerging GP commissioning consortia will need to take a new approach to commissioning health services – an approach that moves beyond the current acute-centred curative paradigm of care to a new sustainable paradigm of care that focuses on primary care, integrated services and upstream prevention to manage demand. A key par...

Africa is predicted to be highly vulnerable to 21stcentury climatic changes. Assessing the impacts of these changes on Africa's biodiversity is, however, plagued by uncertainties, and markedly different results can be obtained from alternative bioclimatic envelope models or future climate...... projections. Using an ensemble forecasting framework, we examine projections of future shifts in climatic suitability, and their methodological uncertainties, for over 2500 species of mammals, birds, amphibians and snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. To summarize a priori the variability in the ensemble of 17...... exposure of sub-Saharan African vertebrates to climatic changes. The future use and further development of bioclimatic envelope modelling will hinge on the interpretation of results in the light of methodological as well as biological uncertainties. Here, we provide a framework to address methodological...

Therapeutic options available for the treatment of Cushing's syndrome (CS) have expanded over the last 5 years. For instance, the efficient management of severe hypercortisolism using a combination of fast-acting steroidogenesis inhibitors has been reported. Recent publications on the long-term efficacy of drugs or radiation techniques have also demonstrated low toxicity. These data should encourage endocrinologists to reconsider the place of bilateral adrenalectomy in patients with ACTH-dependent aetiologies of CS; similarly, the indication of bilateral adrenalectomy is reassessed in primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia. The objective of this review is to compare the efficacy and side effects of the various therapeutic options of hypercortisolism with those of bilateral adrenalectomy, in order to better define its indications in the 21stcentury. PMID:26739832

Full Text Available In this paper we analyze the development process in Serbia in the first decade of the 21stcentury. At the beginning we clearly defined the difference between simple growth of national economy and its development. It is obvious that the growth of revenue in the period 2001-2008 could not be marked as development compared by all of the major macroeconomic indicators. Also there is no doubt that similar (or same growth pattern as in the analyzed period could not be a development model in the future. Because of that, we proposed at the end of the paper new elements of Serbian development - based on KBE (knowledge based economy in the industry sector energy and all other types of efficiency measures and enhancing of personnel capabilities and training of employees as comparative advantages of Serbian Economy.

The Chinese society of the 21stcentury is at a critical period of transformation.The emergence of globalization and informationalization are the most striking changes of the current Chinese society.The profound change in the social transformation and its penetrating influence on people's lives has revealed the disadvantages of the present education.For 10 years,the"New Elementary Education",based on the background of Chinese society,and the demand for school education reform clearly puts forward the necessity of education reform in the period of social transformation,in other words,education should achieve its transformational development.This paper presents a deep research of globalization and informationalization,which are the background of Chinese social transformation.On this basis,the paper examines the implication of"school transformational reform"of the present-day Chinese elementary education,and finally proposes some steps for achieving"school transformational reform".

Wind tunnel testing methods and test technologies for the 21stcentury using advanced capabilities are presented. These capabilities are necessary to capture more accurate and high quality test results by eliminating the uncertainties in testing and to facilitate verification of computational tools for design. This paper discusses near term developments underway in ground testing capabilities, which will enhance the quality of information of both the test article and airstream flow details. Also discussed is a selection of new capability investments that have been made to accommodate such developments. Examples include advanced experimental methods for measuring the test gas itself; using efficient experiment methodologies, including quality assurance strategies within the test; and increasing test result information density by using extensive optical visualization together with computed flow field results. These points could be made for both major investments in existing tunnel capabilities or for entirely new capabilities.

With the release of the landmark report Toxicity Testing in the 21stCentury: A Vision and a Strategy, the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, in 2007, precipitated a major change in the way toxicity testing is conducted. It envisions increased efficiency in toxicity testing and decreased animal...... usage by transitioning from current expensive and lengthy in vivo testing with qualitative endpoints to in vitro toxicity pathway assays on human cells or cell lines using robotic high-throughput screening with mechanistic quantitative parameters. Risk assessment in the exposed human population would...... focus on avoiding significant perturbations in these toxicity pathways. Computational systems biology models would be implemented to determine the dose-response models of perturbations of pathway function. Extrapolation of in vitro results to in vivo human blood and tissue concentrations would be based...

An International Conference entitled "Close Binaries in the 21stCentury: New Opportunities and Challenges", was held in Syros island, Greece, from 27 to 30 June, 2005. There are many binary star systems whose components are so close together, that they interact in various ways. Stars in such systems do not pass through all stages of their evolution independently of each other; in fact their evolutionary path is significantly affected by their companions. Processes of interaction include gravitational effects, mutual irradiation, mass exchange, mass loss from the system, phenomena of extended atmospheres, semi-transparent atmospheric clouds, variable thickness disks and gas streams. The zoo of Close Binary Systems includes: Close Eclipsing Binaries (Detached, Semi-detached, Contact), High and Low-Mass X-ray Binaries, Cataclysmic Variables, RS CVn systems, Pulsar Binaries and Symbiotic Stars. The study of these binaries triggered the development of new branches of astrophysics dealing with the structure and ev...

During the early 21stcentury, we have experienced a transition period of global ocean observing system from expendable bathythermograph (XBT) to Argo. There has been decreasing of XBT observations, but significant increasing of Argo profiles in the global ocean. However, evaluation of the XBT observation system during this period has little been presented. Here, this study investigates the XBT effects on the global ocean observing system by using GFDL data assimilation model. After Argo period, the amount of heat content correction by XBT assimilation is significantly weaken especially in the upper ocean, but it remains in the deeper oceans below 700 m depth within a dynamic model system. This study also confirms that although XBT only provides temperature observations mostly in the upper 700 m of the northern hemisphere, it can affects both temperature and salinity fields of data assimilation system especially in the deep and southern oceans.

Full Text Available The central part of this paper is devoted to establishing the demographic picture of the City of Belgrade at the beginning of the 21stcentury. The authors discuss the number of inhabitants and the components of demographic growth through natural increase (fertility and mortality on the one hand and net migration on the other. Special attention was paid to the problem of refugees (the number and special distribution of refugees. Age and sex structure, the structure by marital status, as well as educational, and economic structures were analyzed. Current ethnic structure, as well as the changes in this structure since the early 1990s, were also presented. The analysis of the demographic picture has made it possible, first of all, to show the implications for the future of the established population trends, and second of all, to single out the basic demographic problems that need to be addressed strategically by the City of Belgrade and by the State.

Full Text Available This paper report on the human resource management in 21stcentury: issues and challenges and its solutions to attain competitiveness. Technology has changed everything with great extent, the methods of production, the process of recruitment, the training techniques, and new equipment etc. Now it’s up to HR personnel’s to work with their functions as shown below to best manage the workforce. In these pieces of paper we have discussed those foremost issues and challenges which are confronting today Organization. To overcome these issues and challenges the HR mangers will have to build a standard structure that allows managing all different workforce alternatives. This way the organization maintains their competitive advantages. Recommendation and conclusions are given at the last of this paper.

These 92 papers comprise a peer-reviewed selection of presentations by authors from NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), industry, and academia at the Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21stCentury. These papers go into more technical depth than did those published from the first NASA-sponsored symposium on the topic, held in 1984. Session topics included the following: (1) design and operation of transportation systems to, in orbit around, and on the Moon; (2) lunar base site selection; (3) design, architecture, construction, and operation of lunar bases and human habitats; (4) lunar-based scientific research and experimentation in astronomy, exobiology, and lunar geology; (5) recovery and use of lunar resources; (6) environmental and human factors of and life support technology for human presence on the Moon; and (7) program management of human exploration of the Moon and space. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles in this report

Heat stress long been known to drive patterns of coral bleaching. Recently, however, it was discovered that ocean acidification can drive coral bleaching independently of temperature. This raises the question: how important will acidification be in driving coral bleaching under climate change? Here, we develop and apply a model that accounts for both thermal stress and ocean acidification in the coral bleaching response. Our analyses, which combine experimental bleaching data under manipulated ocean chemistry and warming with projections of CO2 and SST based on global circulation models, show that ocean acidification will become a key driver of future mass bleaching events within a few decades. Our findings, based on highly conservative assumptions, reveal that coral bleaching alert systems based on warming alone could underestimate coral bleaching by up to 50% during the 21stcentury. This is a striking result that will affect coral reef management strategies worldwide and has policy implications relating to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Command, Control and Communications (CCC) has evolved through the years from simple switches, dials, analogue hardwire networks and lights to a modern computer based digital network. However there are two closely coupled pillars upon which a CCC system is built. The first, is that technology drives the pace of advancement. The second is that a culture that fosters resistance to change can limit technological advancements in the CCC system. While technology has advanced at a tremendous rate throughout the years, the change in culture has moved slowly. This paper will attempt to show through a historical perspective where specific design decisions for early CCC systems have erroneously evolved into general requirements being imposed on later systems. Finally this paper will provide a glimpse into the future directions envisioned for CCC capabilities that will enable 21stcentury missions.

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Two of the most dreaded diseases of the 21stcentury are cancer and HIV. It brings shiver down the spines of a treating physician because of the complexity of the diseases. One important way of doing this is serum albumin which is most commonly used. In recent years, the role of malnutrition as a predictor of survival in cancer has received considerable attention. As a result, it is reasonable to investigate whether serum albumin has utility as a prognostic indicator of cancer survival in cancer. This review summarizes all available epidemiological literature on the association between pretreatment serum albumin levels and survival in different types of cancer. Pretreatment serum albumin levels provide useful prognostic significance in cancer.

Some of the many new and advanced exploration technologies which will enable space missions in the 21stcentury and specifically the Manned Mars Mission are explored in this presentation. Some of these are the system on a chip, the Computed-Tomography imaging Spectrometer, the digital camera on a chip, and other Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology for space. Some of these MEMS are the silicon micromachined microgyroscope, a subliming solid micro-thruster, a micro-ion thruster, a silicon seismometer, a dewpoint microhygrometer, a micro laser doppler anemometer, and tunable diode laser (TDL) sensors. The advanced technology insertion is critical for NASA to decrease mass, volume, power and mission costs, and increase functionality, science potential and robustness.

These papers comprise a peer-review selection of presentations by authors from NASA, LPI industry, and academia at the Second Conference (April 1988) on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21stCentury, sponsored by the NASA Office of Exploration and the Lunar Planetary Institute. These papers go into more technical depth than did those published from the first NASA-sponsored symposium on the topic, held in 1984. Session topics covered by this volume include (1) design and operation of transportation systems to, in orbit around, and on the Moon, (2) lunar base site selection, (3) design, architecture, construction, and operation of lunar bases and human habitats, and (4) lunar-based scientific research and experimentation in astronomy, exobiology, and lunar geology. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles from this report.

These 92 papers comprise a peer-reviewed selection of presentations by authors from NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), industry, and academia at the Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21stCentury. These papers go into more technical depth than did those published from the first NASA-sponsored symposium on the topic, held in 1984. Session topics included the following: (1) design and operation of transportation systems to, in orbit around, and on the Moon; (2) lunar base site selection; (3) design, architecture, construction, and operation of lunar bases and human habitats; (4) lunar-based scientific research and experimentation in astronomy, exobiology, and lunar geology; (5) recovery and use of lunar resources; (6) environmental and human factors of and life support technology for human presence on the Moon; and (7) program management of human exploration of the Moon and space. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles in this report.

Historical and 21stcentury global precipitation changes are investigated using data from the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) Atmosphere-Ocean-General-Circulation-Models (AOGCMs) and a simple energy-balance model. In the simple model, precipitation change in response to a given top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing is calculated as the sum of a response to the surface warming and a direct ‘adjustment’ response to the atmospheric radiative forcing. This simple model allows the adjustment in global mean precipitation to atmospheric radiative forcing from different forcing agents to be examined separately and emulates the AOGCMs well. During the historical period the AOGCMs simulate little global precipitation change despite an increase in global temperature—at the end of the historical period, global multi-model mean precipitation has increased by about 0.03 mm day−1, while the global multi-model mean surface temperature has warmed by about 1 K, both relative to the pre-industrial control means. This is because there is a large direct effect from CO2 and black carbon atmospheric forcing that opposes the increase in precipitation from surface warming. In the 21stcentury scenarios, the opposing effect from black carbon declines and the increase in global precipitation due to surface warming dominates. The cause of the spread between models in the global precipitation projections (which can be up to 0.25 mm day−1) is examined and found to come mainly from uncertainty in the climate sensitivity. The spatial distribution of precipitation change is found to be dominated by the response to surface warming. It is concluded that AOGCM global precipitation projections are in line with expectations based on our understanding of how the energy and water cycles are physically linked. (letters)

We used a biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM), to examine the methane (CH4) exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in Northern Eurasia from 1971 to 2100. Multiple model simulations using various wetland extent datasets and climate change scenarios were conducted to assess the uncertainty of CH4 fluxes, including emissions and consumption. On the basis of these simulations we estimate the current net emissions in the region to be 20–24 Tg CH4 yr−1 (1 Tg = 1012 g), two-thirds of which are emitted during the summer. In response to climate change over the 21stcentury, the annual CH4 emissions in the region are projected to increase at a rate of 0.06 Tg CH4 yr−1, which is an order of magnitude greater than that of annual CH4 consumption. Further, the annual net CH4 emissions are projected to increase by 6–51% under various wetland extent datasets and climate scenarios by the end of the 21stcentury, relative to present conditions. Spatial patterns of net CH4 emissions were determined by wetland extent. Net CH4 emissions were dominated by wetlands within boreal forests, grasslands and wet tundra areas in the region. Correlation analyses indicated that water table depth and soil temperature were the two most important environmental controls on both CH4 emissions and consumption in the region. Our uncertainty analyses indicated that the uncertainty in wetland extent had a larger effect on future CH4 emissions than the uncertainty in future climate. This study suggests that better characterization of the spatial distribution and the natural diversity of wetlands should be a research priority for quantifying CH4 fluxes in this region.

An assessment of the complex evolution of climate change signals in the Irish Sea over the 21stcentury is presented in this paper. Potential impacts of climate change on the local hydrography are explored and interrelationships between fundamental oceanographic shelf sea phenomena investigated. A regional ECOMSED ocean model is used to downscale a 120-year period (1980-2099) of the SRES A1B scenario experiment from a global ocean model. A detailed regional analysis shows that local climate changes may be significantly different from the expected global changes. This research suggests that in the future the Irish Sea will be warmer with sea surface temperature increase of around 1.9 °C. Maxima and minima annual temperatures will occur around 2 weeks later each year relative to the present climate. Geographically, shallow waters along the coastline and in the eastern Irish Sea will exhibit strongest warming due to increased heat uptake during summer and autumn and reduced heat loss in spring and winter. Warming in the deep channel in the western Irish Sea will be generally weaker with seasonal variability subdued due to a large heat storage capacity. The warming will be largely stored in the surface layer of the water column leading to strengthening of stratification and a considerable decrease in the thickness of the mixed layer. The western Irish Sea gyre will become stronger and result in substantial reinforcement (>30%) of southward currents along the east coast of Ireland. Net northward flow in future predicted climate conditions will be maintained at the current annual rate. Steric sea level is projected to rise by 0.31 m during the 21stcentury, leading to an overall projected sea level rise of approximately of 0.47 m. Future changes to oceanographic parameters, flushing times and hydrodynamics of the Irish Sea are likely to alter the habitat and distribution of marine species; the finding of this research are therefore of great interest to ecologists and

Any student seeking a high school diploma from the public school system in one U.S. state must pass the state's high school graduation test. In 2009, only 88% of students at one high school in the state met the basic proficiency requirements on the science portion of the test. Because improved science education has been identified as an explicit national goal, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine whether traditional teaching tools (notes, lecture, and textbook) or 21stcentury teaching tools (online tutorials, video games, YouTube, and virtual labs) lead to greater gains in students' science learning. Bruner's constructivist and Bandura's social cognitive theories served as the foundations for the study. Quantitative research questions were used to investigate the relationship between the type of teaching tools used and student learning gains. Quantitative data from students' pre and posttests were collected and analyzed using a dependent samples t-test. Qualitative data were collected through a focus group interview and participant journals. Analysis of the qualitative data included coding the data and writing a descriptive narrative to convey the findings. Results showed no statistically significant differences in students' science achievement: both types of teaching tools led to student learning gains. As a result, an action plan was developed to assist science educators in the implementation of traditional and 21stcentury teaching tools that can be used to improve students' science learning. Implications for positive social change included providing science educators with a specific plan of action that will enhance students' science learning, thereby increasing science scores on the state and other high stakes tests.

In this study we present an assessment of the impact of future climate change on total fire probability, burned area, and carbon (C) emissions from fires in Europe. The analysis was performed with the Community Land Model (CLM) extended with a prognostic treatment of fires that was specifically refined and optimized for application over Europe. Simulations over the 21stcentury are forced by five different high-resolution Regional Climate Models under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A1B. Both original and bias-corrected meteorological forcings is used. Results show that the simulated C emissions over the present period are improved by using bias corrected meteorological forcing, with a reduction of the intermodel variability. In the course of the 21stcentury, burned area and C emissions from fires are shown to increase in Europe, in particular in the Mediterranean basins, in the Balkan regions and in Eastern Europe. However, the projected increase is lower than in other studies that did not fully account for the effect of climate on ecosystem functioning. We demonstrate that the lower sensitivity of burned area and C emissions to climate change is related to the predicted reduction of the net primary productivity, which is identified as the most important determinant of fire activity in the Mediterranean region after anthropogenic interaction. This behavior, consistent with the intermediate fire-productivity hypothesis, limits the sensitivity of future burned area and C emissions from fires on climate change, providing more conservative estimates of future fire patterns, and demonstrates the importance of coupling fire simulation with a climate driven ecosystem productivity model.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been an international hot spot for research for a long period of time. In China, the prevalence of IBD is rapidly increasing in recent years, mimicking the same fast growing footsteps of the developed world. Chinese literature of the 20(th) century shows that the total number of IBD cases increased by approximately 2.5-fold over the previous decade, in particular a 15.7-fold in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Articles on basic research have increased 4.3-fold, with a particular 9.9-fold increase on immunological mechanisms. The predominantly Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) related clinical trials implied tendency to use a combination of Western Medicine and TCM in the management of Chinese IBD patients. IBD research and collaborations overseas have been markedly promoted since the Chinese Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (COIBD) was founded at the beginning of the 21(st) century. From the second decade of the century onwards, we need to focus on the research hot spots to catch up with the rapid advances worldwide. Big challenges and present achievements provide us with great opportunities for further developments of the study on IBD. The development of some novel target pathogenic factors of the disease will provide us with more effective roll for modern management and optimistic treatment of IBD during this century. PMID:22435503

Full Text Available There is growing international interest in mitigating climate change during the early part of this century by reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs, in addition to reducing emissions of CO2. The SLCPs include methane (CH4, black carbon aerosols (BC, tropospheric ozone (O3 and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs. Recent studies have estimated that by mitigating emissions of CH4, BC, and O3 using available technologies, about 0.5 to 0.6 °C warming can be avoided by mid-21stcentury. Here we show that avoiding production and use of high-GWP (global warming potential HFCs by using technologically feasible low-GWP substitutes to meet the increasing global demand can avoid as much as another 0.5 °C warming by the end of the century. This combined mitigation of SLCPs would cut the cumulative warming since 2005 by 50% at 2050 and by 60% at 2100 from the CO2-only mitigation scenarios, significantly reducing the rate of warming and lowering the probability of exceeding the 2 °C warming threshold during this century.

The Nuclear Industry is now over 40 years old and a proven, mature product has been developed. That proven mature product has evolve into a small set of standardized designs - designs based on evolution of the best and safest features, not revolutionary changes. Just as the product design must be standardized, the regulatory process must also be standardized. With a predictable regulatory environment and rate structure the economic advantages of Nuclear Power will be self-evident. The Nuclear Industry in the United States has had a history of cycles as the economy and need for power has changed. The need for electricity to support growth is a given. With a strong focus on the standardization of the process and the product, a competent engineering approach to safety, and improved economies, the 21stcentury will see nuclear power assume its appropriate role as a key source in the energy mix in the United States. Presenting a discussion dealing with the future is always a risky thing. One man's prognosis is another mans wild guess. Today, I would like to talk briefly on my views of the future, and especially my views on the Prospects for Nuclear Energy in the U. S. in that future. Though it is clear that nuclear energy will play a key role in fulfilling the energy needs of the world, the future of nuclear energy in the United States is not as clear. A discussion of the future of the U. S. Nuclear Industry is especially appropriate here today because I am firmly confident that the Republic of Korea will play a major role in that future. The world energy situation and the role of nuclear power has undergone a number of upsets in the last decade. Often we tend to dwell on the gloom of the past and overlook the strengths that the Nuclear Industry has developed. Presently over 437 gigawatts of electricity in the world is planned to be produced by 564 nuclear units. There are over 32 countries with commercial nuclear programs. One of the brightest of these being here in

Full Text Available Adriana Gini,1,2,* Denis Larrivee,2,3,* Michele Farisco,4,5 Vittorio Alessandro Sironi6 1Neuroradiology Division, Neuroscience Department, San Camillo-Forlanini Medical Center, Rome, Italy; 2International Neuroethics Society, Bethesda, MD, USA; 3Educational Outreach Office, Catholic Dioceses of Charleston, SC, USA; 4Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; 5Biogem Genetic Research Center, Ariano Irpino, Italy; 6Research Center on the History of Biomedical Thought, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Studied since antiquity, the human brain has recently been the inspiration for an international neuroscientific entrepreneurship, the Human Brain Project in Europe and the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies initiative in the USA. Different in their approach, both regard the human brain as one of the greatest challenges of 21stcentury science and the organ that makes us “human”. However, it is mainly the necessity of developing new therapies that affect up to a billion people worldwide, which has propelled the search for extensive expertise and investment in neuroscience research. The debate on ethical and social policy issues as well as the research and medical strategies of such gigantic efforts has involved participants as diverse as neuroscientists, philosophers, scholars in ethics and law, politicians, and the general public, rendering modern neuroscience an interdisciplinary and conflictual endeavor. In fact, the brain is described as the biological underpinning of our thoughts, emotions, perceptions, free willed actions, and memories, features unique to our humanity. In this review, three neuroscientists and a philosopher from the neuroethics community provide their perspectives for an up-to-date survey of salient neuroethical issues, ie, modulation of free will and

Energy is the driving force towards economic and social development. Global demand for energy will keep growing for many years to come due to ongoing, although reduced population growth, and due to the needs of up to 2 billion people who are still without access to commercial energy. To meet this growing demand for energy, all options have to be kept open, with fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro dominating the energy mix for the next decades, and 'new' renewables coming in only slowly. Considering the resulting strain on the environment, and looking at existing disparities in energy supply, the next few decades will not be free of tensions. A turning point may appear in the mid 21stcentury with world population coming to a halt, distinctly improved energy efficiency also in the Developing World, and with new technologies available. Thus, mainly challenges will determine the first half of the century, whereas chances are on hand for the second half of the century - if we act now. The single most important instrument to meet these challenges and to take advantage of the chances is a concentrated move towards energy efficiency and innovation, supported by market reform and appropriate regulation. (author)

Energy is the driving force towards economic and social development. Global demand for energy will keep growing for many years to come due to ongoing, although reduced population growth, and due to the needs of up to 2000 million people who are still without access to commercial energy. To meet this growing demand for energy, all options have to be kept open, with fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro dominating the energy mix for the next decades, and 'new' renewables coming in only slowly. Considering the resulting strain on the environment, and looking at existing disparities in energy supply, the next few decades will not be free of tensions. A turning point may appear in the mid 21stcentury with world population coming to a halt, distinctly improved energy efficiency in the Developing World, and with new technologies available. Thus, mainly challenges will determine the first half of the century, whereas chances are on hand for the second half of the century - if we act now. The single most important instrument to meet these challenges and to take advantage of the chances is a concentrated move towards energy efficiency and innovation, supported by market reform and appropriate regulation. (author)

Despite intense efforts, contemporary educational systems are not enabling individuals to function optimally in modern society. The main reason is that reformers are trying to improve systems that are not designed to take advantage of the centuries of history of the development of today's societies. Nor do they recognize the implications of the millions of years of history of life on earth in which humans are the latest edition of learning organisms. The contemporary educational paradigm of "education for all" is based on a 17th century model of "printing minds" for passing on static knowledge. This characterizes most of K-12 education. In contrast, 21stCentury education demands a new paradigm, which we call Ergonomic Education. This is an education system that is designed to fit the students of any age instead of forcing the students to fit the education system. It takes into account in a fundamental way what students want to learn -- the concept "wanting to learn" refers to the innate ability and desire to...

Based on 150-year simulations of a regional climate model, RegCM3, under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B scenario, the effective drought index (EDI) is used to project the future drought change in China. During the baseline period 1986–2005, RegCM3 was found to reliably simulate the spatial pattern of drought over the country. Over the 21stcentury, the regionally averaged EDI should increase, corresponding to a decrease of drought, while the probability of extreme drought events should increase. Geographically, drought should clearly increase in Northeast China, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley, Southwest China, and southern Tibet but decrease in most parts of the rest of the country.

This dissertation seeks to understand the interplay between culture and politics in the series of issues surrounding HKTV, which consists in the interaction between cultural industry and Hong Kong people under the specific sociopolitical condition of 21stcentury Hong Kong. In order to provide a comprehensive picture of the complex phenomenon, this dissertation adopts a multi-dimensional approach and examines discourses and cultural texts produced by both HKTV, the television institution at t...

The National Academy of Engineering's 2012 forum, "Educating Engineers: Preparing 21stCentury Leaders in the Context of New Modes of Learning," opened with presentations by six speakers who looked at the future of engineering and engineering education from their perspectives as educators, administrators, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Each…

This project utilized descriptive methodology to examine the research question, how is technology being used in the classroom, as perceived by public school teachers in Milwaukee during early 21stcentury? In order to fully analyze this question, both quantitative and qualitative data were utilized. The researcher developed a survey for the…

Over the past year, dozens of articles have been published about excessive youth borrowing and spending (leading to high amounts of debt), new reactions to negative body image (such as plastic surgery), as well as more familiar risks like premarital sex and smoking. In Forum Focus: Revisiting Risk in the 21stCentury, we explore these challenges…